At London Tech Week, the Government announced that key parts of the Ordnance Survey (OS) data will be made available under the Open Government License (OGL) for both public and business use. Ministers estimate that this move will boost the UK economy by £130 million annually and bring other indirect benefits to the market.

The release of OS MasterMap data is one of the first projects to be delivered by the Geospatial Commission, in conjunction with Ordnance Survey, by providing strategic oversight to various public bodies who hold this data. £40m of government funds have been committed per year over the next two years to support this work.

The government has said that the aim of this project is to promote the UK as a world leader in location data, helping to grow the UK’s digital economy by an estimated 11 billion per year. Furthermore, it will remove usage barriers that have been identified through user research, thus making it easier for small businesses to access the data.

New Datasets

The datasets that will be made available for free up to a threshold of transactions are OS MasterMap Topography Layer, including building heights and functional sites;

• OS MasterMap Greenspace Layer;
• OS MasterMap Highways Network;
• OS MasterMap Water Network Layer; and
• OS Detailed Path Network.

Cabinet Office Minister, David Lidington, said:

“Opening up OS MasterMap underlines this Government’s commitment to ensuring the UK continues to lead the way in digital innovation. Releasing this valuable government data for free will help stimulate innovation in the economy, generate jobs and improve public services.”

“Location-aware technologies – using geospatial data – are revolutionising our economy. From navigating public transport to tracking supply chains and planning efficient delivery routes, these digital services are built on location data that has become part of everyday life and business.”

“The newly available data should be particularly useful to small firms and entrepreneurs to realise their ideas and compete with larger organisations, encouraging greater competition and innovation.”

Neil Ackroyd, Interim CEO of Ordnance Survey said:

“Ordnance Survey holds the most accurate and comprehensive set of location data for Great Britain, making public sector services work more efficiently and helping to build innovative businesses across every sector of the economy.”

“Since its launch in 2001, OS MasterMap has been one of the most comprehensive and detailed geospatial reference datasets in the world. This latest development is another step on Ordnance Survey’s open data journey. We’re looking forward to supporting the Geospatial Commission in making this data more accessible and more widely used.”