Proposal:Ref:GB:uprn

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Unique Property Reference Number
Proposal status: Approved (active)
Proposed by: RobJN
Tagging: ref:GB:uprn=*
Applies to: Node, Way
Definition: The Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) is the public sector mandated[1] unique identifier for every addressable location in the United Kingdom.[2]
Statistics:

Rendered as: N/A
Draft started: 2020-07-20
RFC start: 2020-07-20
Vote start: 2020-08-30
Vote end: 2020-09-15

Proposal

The proposal is to use ref:GB:uprn=* to add the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) to features in the United Kingdom.

The tag is already starting to be used:


Rationale

The Ordnance Survey released an open dataset of UPRNs in July 2020. Up until this point, some people had entered a few of these identifiers to OpenStreetMap using the tag ref:NPLG:UPRN:1=* (TagInfoGB reports 244 entries). No formal proposal and acceptance process occurred for this former tag.

On discussing the UPRN data, several members proposed that we use ref:GB:uprn=* noting the following advantages:

  1. It is more in keeping with other reference tags.
  2. The inclusion of the GB two-letter ISO 3166 code will help data consumers to understand the origin of the reference an avoid conflicting with any other "UPRN" identifiers that may be used in other countries.

The idea was discussed during a State of the Map 2020 online workshop (link), in which it was agreed that this proposal page would be created.

The aim is to agree a tag, and take it through the proposal process in order to demonstrate support. The proposal does not cover what to do about any other tags that attempt to map UPRNs. This is intentional as we want to agree a tag first, before then looking at whether other tags should be updated.

Tagging

Map UPRNs in the same way that you map addresses or amenities (e.g. shops) on or in buildings. In practice this means:

  • Where there is a one-to-one relationship between building and UPRN, then add the UPRN to the building's outline (way).
  • Where there are multiple UPRN's within a single building, you may add nodes within the building and add the UPRN to the nodes.

The important part is that the ref:GB:uprn=* tag is clearly associated with the feature it relates to in the original database of UPRN entries.

External discussions

Known discussions:

  • On talk-gb at several points during 2020.
  • At a State of the Map 2020 online workshop.

Further reading

Custodians working for relevant authorities assign unique identifiers – the UPRN – to individual, addressable locations. An addressable location may be any kind of building, or it may be an object that might not have a ‘normal' address – such as a bus shelter or an electricity substation for example. Overwhelmingly however, UPRNs are used in relation to buildings, which can include commercial, assembly, educational and domestic - the latter may be individual houses, tenement, or apartment blocks.

UPRNs provide every property (or object) with a consistent 12-digit identifier throughout its lifecycle, from planning through to demolition. It should be noted that UPRNs can be allocated to both a building and individual units within the main building.

The relevance of UPRNs is that they can be linked to other identifiers such as Basic Land and Property Unit (BLPU), which are used in managing details of each property such as the address. Other linked identifiers that can be used are the Unique Street Reference Number (USRN) and postcode. In this way, various spatially linked data sources are used in Great Britain by Ordnance Survey to provide their address products.

Blocks of sequential UPRN values are allocated to gazetteer custodians in England and Wales by GeoPlace. In Scotland, the allocation of blocks of UPRNs is carried out by the Improvement Service. In Northern Ireland, UPRNs are the responsibility of the Department for Infrastructure (Northern Ireland), which are managed together with linked identifiers by Land & Property Services in conjunction with the Royal Mail and local authorities. Use of the UPRN also extends to the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. This proposal is intentionally silent on those island territories, in part because no data source is known, but also because local mappers may wish to use their local ISO codes (IM, GG and JE) in place of the GB ISO code for United Kingdom.

As of July 2020 the UPRN data for Great Britain is now available as Open Data under the Open Government Licence.

Tools

These maps show UPRNs:

at higher zooms.

See also

The UPRN is discussed in more detail at:

Comments

Please comment on the discussion page.

Voting

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  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal.
{{vote|yes}} --~~~~ Feel free to also explain why you support proposal.
  • I oppose this proposal I oppose this proposal. reason
{{vote|no}} reason --~~~~ Replace reason with your reason(s) for voting no.
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  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. Was proposed in talk-gb discussions and has found use already so formalising this makes sense. --RobJN (talk) 20:06, 30 August 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. I see no problems with this proposal, this is a case where adding reference to other database is beneficial (unlike many similar tags added during imports) --Mateusz Konieczny (talk) 20:23, 30 August 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --Gregoryw (talk) 20:33, 30 August 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. per RobJN. Andy Mabbett (User:Pigsonthewing); Andy's talk; Andy's edits 21:45, 30 August 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --No issues, suggest that users are encouraged to use additional tags where this is not an addressable object (e.g. natural=tree) -- Globalforester 11:32, 31 August 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --Sdoerr (talk) 14:59, 31 August 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --Rjw62 (talk) 19:07, 31 August 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --Dr Centerline (talk) 19:20, 31 August 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. This has been discussed constructively and is as agreed in those discussions --TonyS (talk) 19:26, 31 August 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal.Would be very useful to standardise these and start adding data, especially if this is to be increasingly used in public open data --Huwdiprose (talk) 00:12, 01 September 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --CjMalone (talk) 21:47, 31 August 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --Michael Montani (talk) 12:09, 1 September 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --Ndm (talk) 17:35, 1 September 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --Rskedgell (talk) 10:29, 3 September 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --Jnicho02 (talk) 13:24, 4 September 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. Very similar to ref:FR:FANTOIR#map, being a ref:GB:* tag, IMHO, the result of talk-gb discussions was enough. I don't mind uprn, what you decide is the right term! --Nospam2005 (talk) 11:47, 6 September 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. Very nice use of local namespaces Fanfouer (talk) 22:07, 7 September 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --CycleStreets (talk) 22:32, 13 September 2020 (UTC)
  • I approve this proposal I approve this proposal. --James Derrick (talk) 15:09, 15 September 2020 (UTC)
Voting closed

Voting on this proposal has been closed.

It was approved with 19 votes for, 0 votes against and 0 abstentions.

References

  1. As mandated by the Government Digital Service (this may be for GB only)
  2. As described by GeoPlace.