Coordinate reference systems

The Geography Markup Language (GML) and GeoPackage formats use the British National Grid (BNG) spatial reference system. BNG uses the OSGB36 geodetic datum and a single Transverse Mercator projection for the whole of Great Britain. Positions on this projection are described using easting and northing coordinates in units of metres.

Vector tile format is supplied in Web Mercator projection (EPSG:3857). Web Mercator projection uses WGS84 geodetic datum to render the vector tiles.

A general guide to cartography is available on our More than Maps platform here.

A general introductory guide to BNG is provided at:

• Beginner's guide to grid references