[Talk-GB] HMLR Inspire Index Map

[Andy Robinson]

Following on from Andrew's earlier post today regarding PAF he also asked me
separately what I thought about another dataset which is currently closed,
data that is earmarked for some level of release by HM Land Registry and
specifically the Inspire Index Map[1].

The Inspire Index Map is the Land registry dataset that is intended to
comply with the requirements of the EU INSPIRE Directive. The Inspire index
map contains the unique IDs for each title in the register plus the attached
addresses. It does not contain the full data that is found in HMLR Title
Plans.

The question is, would the basic polygon shapes and attached addresses as
provided by the index map be a useful resource for OSM. In my opinion this
can actually be further broken down to being:
1. Is the data a useful supplementary resource for mappers?
2. Is the shape and other data useful as a potential bulk import into OSM?

My view is that datasets like this sit squarely in the former category and
would form a significant beneficial resource to the project. In the case of
HMLR titles it would help enormously with identifying where the current
boundaries between land parcels lie. We can guess to a large degree from
aerial imagery, especially in residential areas, but it isn't that easy in
many locations elsewhere or to decide whether a parcel of land should be one
piece or split up. Address information is also of interest, though these
different sources of address data aren't the same thing as having a fully
open NLPG dataset.

I'm wary of this type of cadastral dataset appearing wholesale in OSM (via
import). We have seen in other locations that while cadastral data can (when
zoomed out) make for a very pretty map its rarely fine grained enough to sit
well with existing OSM data when zoomed in. Perhaps if we had access to some
samples we could judge whether this dataset would be any better than some of
the others we have seen around the world.

ODUG is looking for comments [2] on whether the release of this dataset
under an open licence should be given priority by ODUG. Please review and
add your comments on that page.

Cheers
Andy

[1] http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/inspire
[2]
http://data.gov.uk/data-requests/inspire-index-map-with-unique-ids-plus-the-
attached-addresses-download-facility