Digital Mapping for the Community

Experts from Bath Spa University are helping parish councils to use new digital maps for the local community. They will advise at least seven parishes in the Bath area on the latest technology for communicating with their residents.

Staff and students from the University’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) degree course have been involved in setting up a national project called the People’s Map. This allows councils to adapt and update the digital map of their own local area.

Bath and North East Somerset Council is one of several councils across the UK already using the People’s Map.

Now the service is also being offered to parish councils. It enables them to mark up and publish on their website a digital map of the parish, showing anything from litter bin locations to crime hotspots. For example the map can be used for local events to indicate temporary car parking or preferred traffic routes.

Local parishes signing up for the Parish Online scheme will each be able to ‘adopt’ a GIS student from Bath Spa University, who can provide expert guidance on how to make the most of it.

Bath Spa University recently hosted a conference on how digital mapping can benefit the community. The University’s GIS experts welcomed nearly 50 parish councillors from throughout the B&NES area, together with representatives from aerial photography companies Getmapping and Geosense, the People’s Map and data supplier Spatial Technology.

As a result of the conference seven local parish councils have decided to use Parish Online. They are: Bathampton, Bathford, Combe Hay, Dunkerton, Hinton Charterhouse, Keynsham and Saltford. More parishes are expected to follow suit.

Staff and students from the Bath Spa University GIS course have built a national reputation for their expertise in the subject. In a three year partnership with Getmapping they also helped to create a digital 3D map of the whole of Britain.

Further information on the Parish Online scheme is available at: www.parish-online.co.uk

ENDS

1) For more information please contact Alexander Koh, Principal Lecturer in Geographic Information Systems at Bath Spa University, on 01225 875580 or 07768 232191 a.koh@bathspa.ac.uk

2)Or Peter Cullimore, Bath Spa University Communications Officer, on 01225 876106 p.cullimore@bathspa.ac.uk