Parish councils switch to online maps

Three quarters of the 40 parish councils within Bath and North East Somerset, where the unitary council has agreed to pay the annual subscription of £10 per 1,000 residents for the first year, have adopted the Parish Online service. "As most of our parishes have a small population, it means a £10 per year cost," Martin Laker, GIS team leader at Bath and North East Somerset Council, told GC News. Parish Online, a browser based system developed by Getmapping and Spatial Technology, was launched in January 2010. "Its tools and libraries enable users to mark routes, highlight temporary parking, pinpoint a broken streetlamp, designate an area for a new allotment and more," according to a Getmapping spokesperson. A new version which includes the ability to fade or switch off map layers and the introduction of a full location, postcode and street gazetteer, went live on 23 July 2010. "I think it's a fantastic service," said Laker. "Before, if they (parish councils) wanted the simplest map, we had to create it for them. Now they can just create maps using their own information. They all think it's a big improvement." July's update also allows the parent authority to add information. "The district can share its data with the parishes, for example about public footpaths, conservation areas and green belt," said Laker. He attributes the success, in part, to the support provided by a local university. "The reason for the success is that we work with Bath Spa University and students have trained and encouraged parishes in using this technology," said Laker.