Local authorities sign up for digital mapping

Councils throughout the UK have signed up for a digital mapping scheme which they say will save £100m over four years.

The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), a company owned by the Local Government Association, said almost all (99.46 per cent) of local authorities have signed up for its Mapping Services Agreement (MSA).

The MSA covers 551 UK authorities, including national parks, police and fire stations. The service will give authorities the same access to digital maps and other geographic information on the location and dimensions of an address.

The agreement includes the production of National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) data - a local government geographical address tool that will give each property a unique reference number.

Three companies are working on the project: Ordnance Survey (for national coverage of breadth), Intermap (for height) and Intelligent Addressing (for maintaining NLPG data).

Lucy de Groot, executive director at IDeA, said in a statement: "Joint procurement on this scale is complex, and to comply with European rules means that it has taken time to reach the best terms for the sector.

"Started prior to Sir Peter Gershon's review this procurement is in line with its recommendations that the public sector deliver savings in terms of money and increased efficiency."