How the Welsh Government is leading the way with a single mapping and data platform for Wales

From empowering the public with transparent access to detailed information - ranging from speed limits to the location of public toilets - to supporting local authorities in decision-making, DataMapWales plays an essential role across Wales. Most importantly, the portal is also providing near real-time information to the resilience community, planning for, and responding to, emergencies such as landslides or flooding. 

OS data is integral to the portal, which first started out as an environmental tool for the Welsh Government more than ten years ago. It makes full use of 35 OS datasets, such as OS MasterMap Topography Layer and OS AddressBase, available to the public sector under the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement. Datasets such as OS NGD Buildings and OS NGD Address from the OS National Geographic Database are in the process of being made available in the portal with more to follow.

Today, DataMapWales is being used in a raft of different ways, most commonly to support active travel. The website hosts over 3,000 datasets, 600 of which are open data and can be directly accessed by the public. It is able to host public consultations, most recently on Welsh language place names. Beyond this, DataMapWales provides data in areas such as EV charging, carbon calculation scenario modelling and assessing how changes to land use affect carbon emissions and carbon storage potential. Last year, data from the portal was also used to support the publication of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation, to identify areas experiencing higher levels of deprivation.

Perhaps most critically, the DataMapWales team is developing a bespoke application – Jigso - to support the resilience community in Wales. With severe flooding expected to occur more frequently across the country as a result of climate change, this will be critical for emergency responders.

The majority of the emergency service, responder agencies and resilience organisations across Wales are already signed up to the application and can access and download its data. The team is hoping to encourage utility companies and organisations to securely share their data so Jigso has the ability to identify vulnerable people using a broader range of information sources. By using Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs), Jigso links essential data to specific properties, helping agencies quickly identify and support those most in need.

While Jigso is still in development, it was used to calculate the number of vulnerable households affected by the flooding in Monmouthshire last year, helping the emergency services reach those who needed help more quickly. By combining OS data with other datasets, Jigso provides the spatial accuracy needed for emergency services to respond quickly and effectively. The Welsh Government has provided additional funding to further develop the Jigso application into a fully supported product.

Pam Whitham, Customer Development Manager at OS, said:

“We have had a very close relationship with the Welsh Government for many years and are delighted that it continues to use OS data extensively, particularly in DataMapWales. This is a fantastic portal where public sector and service providers across the country are able to access trusted and authoritative data to support their routine and critical services.”

You can visit DataMapWales here: Home | DataMapWales and Hafan | MapDataCymru.