OS Maps Online

[McGarley]

Bing maps provides good OS maps at 1:50000 and 1:25000 resolution.

http://www.bing.com/maps/

Just select Ordnance Survey from the drop down list and zoom in and out to show the different resolutions.

Bing is the Microsoft version of Google. I guess they are trying to compete by offering stuff like this!

 

[nigeltm]

In April the OS are releasing quite a few small and large scale electronic products for free.

OS Street View® (a 1:10 000 scale raster product)
1:25 000 Scale Colour Raster (same as Explorer paper maps)
1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster (same as Landranger paper maps)
1:50 000 Scale Gazetteer (placenames on a 1km grid)
1:250 000 Scale Colour Raster
MiniScale® (a 1:1 000 000 scale raster product)
Code-Point® (postcodes and coordinates)
Boundary-Line™ (political boundaries)
Meridian™ 2 (large scale/whole UK overview)
Strategi®. (same as Meridian2, only looks better )

It's all part of the "Making Public Data Public" policy championed by Tim Berners-Lee.

To use the maps you'll need some type of electronic mapping software (e.g. GIS, poss some satnavs or Memory Map). Lucky me I manage a GIS so I'm sorted and I'll get brownie points from the boss

Hopefully this'll mean that the OS maps will be more widely available online and the cost of Memory Map will come down.

 

[Tengu]

I use the get a map part of their site.

 

[VirusKiller]

Is there a link or press release for this?

 

[nigeltm]

Notice on the OS website:

http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/media/news/2009/nov2009/mappingfuture.html

and the Communities and Local Government website:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1385429

and finally a link to the consultation document outlining the proposal (and reasons for it):

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/ordnancesurveyconsultation

There is some paranioa in the GIS industry that the maps may only be released as part of the OS Open Space project and not as a stand alone set of maps. Personally having talked to a couple of the guys at OS I don't think this is likely.

That said, OS Open Space allows anyone to create a web mapping application using their maps mixed in with the persons (or society/company/etc) own information. Any one for a Bushcraft UK online meet/camp site/natural interest map?

http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/openspace/

Now all I have to do is figure how to load the 25k maps onto my Garmin c60s!

 

[scrogger]

Good linkys!!

Good news ref the OS mapping I actualy read about this last night in TGO.

Andy

 

[nigeltm]

What they don't shout about is that they make most of their money from the commercial sales of OS mapping and that the small and mid scale products are being superceeded by OS VectorMap Local. So in a couple of years they wouldn't be selling these in great quantity anyway!

They ain't doing us any favours! It's just a way to get some positive media coverage by giving away something almost worthless to them anyway

Oh, and they are looking to reduce the favourable prices they charge local and central government to cover some of the lost revenue. I wonder what that'll do to my council tax