Matt thanks for prodding!
I think that API is based on CodePoint Open so you can download it bulk, but as you say it is not detailed enough for many people . There is also the issue of covering Great Britain but missing Northern Ireland. But geocoding postcodes is only one aspect. The call is for a public and open National Address Dataset, so you are looking rather at something like this http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/products/addressbase-products.html ADDRESS POINT will cost you £16,562.50 plus £4,000 for using it on a public website while the full version of Code Point is £731.59 or £3 292.81 with polygons. http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/docs/ordnance-survey-business-portfolio-price-list.pdf The PAF is only one element. We are looking at it right now because unless it is opened very soon it will be privatised with the rest of Royal Mail. This is being considered as we speak. I am copying this email to Dominique, who sits in the Open Data User Group, so they can incorporate your query in their negotiation briefings and FAQs Re Royal Mail making money, sure that after opening up they should be able to build whatever services they wish. Please write to Michael Fallon, the time really is now! http://www.openrightsgroup.org/campaigns/postcodes best, Javier -- Javier Ruiz [email protected] +44(0)7877 911 412 @javierruiz www.OpenRightsGroup.org Winners of Liberty's Human Rights Campaigner of the Year Award 2012 On Monday, 4 February 2013 at 14:15, Matt Robinson wrote: > Just to play devil's advocate here, what's wrong with the free Ordnance > Survey API (other than its inscrutable JSON responses)? I can imagine that it > will be held up defensively by any ministers contacted by this campaign. > > http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/doc/postcodeunit/SO164GU > > Is it that it's: > too incomplete (it doesn't resolve to a street name, just lat/long, country, > district and ward), > not authoritative (as in, Royal Mail is the original source of post codes), > not downloadable, > or that the Open Government License it's released under is insufficiently > open? > Something else? > > I used it commercially and non-commercially to provide lat/long lookup for > postcodes. It's been pretty good. > > > Secondly, "The Royal Mail can’t be allowed to exploit this information for > commercial gain" is pretty contentious (I'm not sure that's intentional). I > think it would be better to argue that Royal Mail shouldn't be able to > withhold this data. After all why shouldn't Royal Mail build profitable (or > at least self-sustaining) services on top of open data? We'll certainly be > trying to! > > -- > Matt Robinson > https://lazycat.org/ > > On 4 Feb 2013, at 13:22, Owen Blacker <[email protected] > (mailto:[email protected])> wrote: > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > From: Javier Ruiz <[email protected] > > (mailto:[email protected])> > > Date: 4 February 2013 13:06 > > Subject: [Okfn-en] Help open up the postcode dataset > > To: "[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])" > > <[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])> > > > > […] > > Data about UK addresses is still locked down, unavailable to the general > > public and only accessible with an expensive and complex annual license > > from the Royal Mail. Innovators are being discouraged from putting this > > core reference data to creative use. British businesses and public services > > have to cope with the unnecessary burden of applying and paying for access > > to location data. > > > > The Open Data Users Group, a governmental advisory group, has just released > > a report > > (http://data.gov.uk/blog/odug-progress-on-a-national-address-dataset)calling > > for a public and open National Address Dataset to replace the restrictive > > database that we have now. > > […] > > Location data is a critical national asset. The Royal Mail can’t be allowed > > to exploit this information for commercial gain. Instead, the government > > should make this data freely available as part of our national public > > infrastructure. > > > > Ministers will try to hide behind the argument that these issues only > > concern a minority of technical experts. This just isn’t true. We need your > > help to show them that British citizens are well aware of the crucial > > importance of this data and are ready to be vocal about it. > > >
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