Super Unitary Selects Aligned Assets For Gazetteer Management

Cheshire East Council, one of the nine ‘Super Unitaries’ created in 2009, are set to develop an award winning land and property gazetteer using software from Aligned Assets.

After a long assessment period, they selected the gazetteer management system from Aligned Assets, called Symphony iManage, to manage their new central Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG).

This unified database of addresses was formed from the LLPGs previously held by Congleton Borough Council, Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council and Macclesfield Borough Council, and will drive efficiencies across the authority.

They now submit their LLPG regularly to the national hub for inclusion in the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG), which is a national initiative that provides a definitive dataset for use in the emergency services. It is the NLPG that will form a key component of the new National Address Gazetteer.

“The iManage gazetteer was the perfect choice since it went along with everything the Unitary was established to achieve,” explained Mike Garrity, Spatial Data Manager at Cheshire East Council. “It helped us to centralise the previously separate datasets, it is efficient, user-friendly and cost effective, and ultimately, it helps to improve frontline services.”

“We went through a thorough review process and concluded that Symphony iManage was the best option in terms of standards and interoperability, ease of use, support and implementation, and of course LLPG management. Aligned Assets also supply a wide range of additional modules that will allow us to expand the use of the gazetteer in future.”

To find out more, visit www.aligned-assets.co.uk

Aligned Assets Announce Best Practice Days for 2011

Now in their third year, the latest dates for the Best Practice Days run by gazetteer specialists Aligned Assets have been announced.

In a change to the previous format that saw them based on the use of gazetteers across the public sector, these events have been split between the use of gazetteers in the emergency services and best practice in street naming and numbering.

The Emergency Services Gazetteer Best Practice Day is scheduled for 11th May in central Sheffield and is open to anyone within the emergency services who create, maintain or use address data. Attendance will also be advantageous for people in the wider public sector e.g. NHS, central and local government, who work closely with or supply data to the emergency services.

Topics to be covered include the National Address Gazetteer and how that will affect the emergency services, the use of corporate gazetteers to synchronise front line and back office systems, and using gazetteer data for the mapping of CCTV cameras.

Though only one date was originally scheduled, due to an unprecedented level of demand, five Street Naming and Numbering Best Practice Days have been scheduled, with venues in Oakham, Newcastle, London, Llandrindod and Taunton.

These events are designed to give a comprehensive introduction to Best Practice in Street Naming and Numbering through the first hand experiences those that regularly work in the process. Additionally, the legalities of the street naming and numbering will be presented on and discussed – everything from the adoption of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847 to the requirements of the Local Government Act 1972.

As well as the best practice days, Aligned Assets are running further AGI Accredited BS7666 training courses on both the introductory level and ones designed for developers. The courses are designed to combine theory with hands on experience and see 97% of trainees rating the courses as exceeding their expectations.

Of the best practice days, Managing Director of Aligned Assets, Dinesh Thanigasalam said, “Since we started running these events in 2008, the message of best practice has reached over 350 people from almost 250 different organisations. In this age of austerity, when efficiency savings are top of the agenda, we are pleased to continue providing these free of charge platforms for education and learning.”

For more information, visit www.aligned-assets.co.uk/events