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A key feature of the address and street infrastructures is the inclusion of a Unique Property/Street Reference Number (UPRN and USRN).
Public service transformation enabled by location
A key feature of the address and street infrastructures is the inclusion of a Unique Property/Street Reference Number (UPRN and USRN).
In the same way that every citizen has a National Insurance Number, every internet enabled device has an IP address and every book features an ISBN number - the UPRN and USRN uniquely and definitively identifies every addressable location in Great Britain.
The UPRN is the unique identifier added by local authorities who have the statutory responsibility for street naming and numbering, for every spatial address in Great Britain. Similarly, a USRN is recorded by local authorities for every street in England and Wales.
Both unique numbers provide a comprehensive, complete, consistent identifier throughout a property’s lifecycle – from planning permission through to demolition. They are underpinning and linking mechanisms that removes error in data exchange and communication, and delivers efficiency gains in operational processes.
The UPRN, found within the AddressBase® products from Ordnance Survey, is used by organisations to link multiple disparate datasets together. Using the UPRN means that organisations can continue to hold their address information in their existing formats but, by adding a single field containing the UPRN, it becomes possible to link matching records in different databases together.
There is a statutory obligation to use the USRN, found within the National Street Gazetteer, to coordinate street works activities.
Local authorities are keen to find out how their data is being used in national projects by the wider public sector and during the afternoon, the conference focussed on two specific projects.
