AddressBase Core – 05 November 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 05 November 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

AddressBase Core – 29 October 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 29 October 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

AddressBase Core – 22 October 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 22 October 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

AddressBase Core – 15 October 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 15 October 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

AddressBase Core – 8 October 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 8 October 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

AddressBase Core – 24 September 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 24 September 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

AddressBase Core – 17 September 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 17 September 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

AddressBase Core – 10 September 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 10 September 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

AddressBase Core – 02 September 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 02 September 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

AddressBase Core – 27 August 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 27 August 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

AddressBase Core – 19 August 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 19 August 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

AddressBase Core – 13 August 2024 release note

This release note provides information about the 13 August 2024 release of AddressBase Core.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Known issues

There has been one new issue identified in this release of AddressBase Core. A Scottish record has been incorrectly matched to a Royal Mail record. As a result of this, the Scottish record (UPRN = 35030393) has been incorrectly assigned a ‘POST_TOWN’ value of ‘NEWCASTLE’ and incorrect ‘POSTCODE’ of ‘BT33 0GT’. The nine other addresses on this street remain unaffected.

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

AddressBase Core is an easy-to-use, accessible addressing data product that gives plug-and-play access to complete and accurate address data. It combines key elements from existing AddressBase products into a simplified product.

What you need?

• Access to AddressBase Core data via a Public Sector Plan, Premium Plan, or Energy & Infrastructure plan.

• Basic technical knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and databases.

Instructions

These instructions show you how to use AddressBase Core and include:

Record counts

Product supply comparison

There is a difference in record counts between taking a national Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) and the national 5km-tile supply. This is because the two supplies use different selection criteria. The difference in record counts is shown in the following table, allowing you to validate your data holdings once you have loaded the latest release of AddressBase Core.

A small difference in record counts is expected due to there being several features supplied in the MGBS which fall outside of the tiled area.

Changed records

If you receive a Change-Only Update (COU) supply for your AddressBase Core product, you will receive Insert, Update and Delete records within the supplied file. The following table details the numbers of these records which can be expected in the COU supply of the product:

Source data currency

The following information relates to the currency of the source data used in the creation of this release of AddressBase Core:

1. These counts are based on a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). If you ordered your national coverage via the online ordering system using a polygon outline, your counts may differ.

All AddressBase products are available as a full supply or a Change Only Update (COU).

A COU means you will only be supplied with the features which have changed since your last supply.

The following sub-sections provide guidance on how you could potentially manage a COU supply of AddressBase Core using PostgreSQL.

• Where angle brackets (<>) are used, you should be replace the entire string with your content. For example:

  Copy

  COPY <table_name> FROM 'C:\Address\ AddressBaseCore_COU_2020-06-03_001.csv' DELIMITER ',' CSV HEADER;

  Becomes:

  Copy

  COPY addressbase_core_cou FROM 'C:\Address\ AddressBaseCore_COU_2020-06-03_001.csv' DELIMITER ',' CSV HEADER;

• If referencing a schema, <schema_name>, can be placed in front of any <table_name>, for example:

  Copy

  COPY ab_core.addressbase_core_cou FROM 'C:\Address\ AddressBaseCore_COU_2020-06- 03_001.csv' DELIMITER ',' CSV HEADER;

Types of change

At a high level, there are three types of change found within COU:

• Deletes (CHANGE_TYPE ‘D’) are objects that have ceased to exist in the product since the last product refresh.

• Inserts (CHANGE_TYPE ‘I’) are objects that have been newly inserted into the product since the last product refresh.

• Updates (CHANGE_TYPE ‘U’) are objects that have been updated in the product since the last product refresh.

High-level COU implementation model

High-level COU implementation model with archiving

Before a COU is applied, there may be a business requirement to archive existing address records. The diagram below shows how to implement archiving with an AddressBase Core COU within a database.

Applying COU to tables

Within AddressBase Core there will be no records with the same UPRN. You can test this by checking the number of records that have the same UPRN. The following SQL query notifies you of any duplicates.

SELECT uprn, COUNT(uprn) AS NumOccurrences FROM <table_name>
GROUP BY uprn
HAVING ( COUNT(uprn) > 1 );

This query should return 0 rows, and this confirms that there are no duplicates. As there are no duplicate records, we can use the UPRN to apply the COU.

With archiving

Where there is a business requirement to keep the records that are being Updated and Deleted in a separate archive table, the following SQL will create an Archive Table. It will populate with records that are being Updated and Deleted from the live AddressBase Core table.

The following commands create an archive table of the records that are being updated and deleted from the existing table, for example, addressbase_core_archive.

1. Use the steps in Working with CSV data > Loading AddressBase Core into a database to load the COU CSV into a new or existing table, for example, addressbase_core_cou.

2. If this table already exists, you can use INSERT INTO <abcore_archive_table_name>, rather than CREATE TABLE <abcore_archive_table_name> AS.

   Copy

   CREATE TABLE <abcore_archive_table_name> AS SELECT * FROM <master_abcore_table_name> WHERE uprn IN (SELECT uprn FROM <abcore_cou_table_name> WHERE change_code != 'I');

3. The following commands deletes the records from the existing table, which are either updates or deletions.

   Copy

   DELETE FROM <master_abcore_table_name>
   WHERE uprn IN (SELECT uprn FROM <abcore_cou_table_name> WHERE change_code != 'I');

4. The following command inserts the new insert records and the new updated records into the live BLPU table.

   Copy

   INSERT INTO <master_abcore_table_name>
   SELECT * FROM <abcore_cou_table_name> WHERE change_code != 'D';

5. You can check that this has been successful by re-checking that there are no duplicate UPRNs.

Without archiving

If there is no requirement for archiving, follow these steps:

1. Use the steps in Working with CSV data > Loading AddressBase Core into a database to load the COU CSV into a new or existing table, for example, addressbase_core_cou.

2. Now, delete the existing records that will be updated, for example, Updates and Deletions.

   Copy

   DELETE FROM <master_abcore_table_name>
   WHERE uprn IN (SELECT uprn FROM <abcore_cou_table_name> WHERE change_code != 'I');

3. Insert the new updated records.

   Copy

   INSERT INTO <master_abcore_table_name>
   SELECT * FROM <abcore_cou_table_name> WHERE change_code != 'D';

4. You can check that this has been successful by re-checking that there are no duplicate UPRNs.

Ordnance Survey does not recommend specific suppliers or software products, as the most appropriate system will depend on many factors, for example, the amount of data being taken, resources available within the organisation, the existing and planned information technology infrastructure and the applications that AddressBase products can be used for

Loading data into GIS applications

This section provides step-by-step instructions on how to load the GPKG format of AddressBase Core into commonly-used GIS software.

Ordnance Survey does not recommend specific suppliers or software products, as the most appropriate system will depend on many factors, for example, the amount of data being taken, resources available within the organisation, the existing and planned information technology infrastructure and the applications that AddressBase products can be used for.

Loading data into GIS applications

This section provides step-by-step instructions on how to load the CSV format of AddressBase Core into commonly-used GIS software.

Loading AddressBase Core into a database

Considerations

• BIGINT/NUMBER: The ESRI products, ArcMap, ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Server, do not support the BIGINT/NUMBER data type as an Object ID. Bear this in mind if the expectation is to use this data type directly with these products. As an alternative method to facilitate using ESRI software, you can store this data as a string and add a new Serial ID to act as the Object ID.

• Column length: If you are loading AddressBase Core data directly into a database, you may need to increase the column length to accommodate language characters such as ^. Some databases treat this as an additional character and therefore if you define the column length according to our specification there is a chance the load may fail. Please bear in mind such adjustments may be required depending on the database you use to load the data.

• UPRN deletions: It is important to note if a UPRN is deleted and then reinserted, this does not compromise the integrity of the UPRN and its use as a primary key. If a delete is issued for a UPRN, this does not mean it will not reappear in subsequent supplies. There are several reasons this may happen:

  • The record has moved in location more than once, moving it out of your area of interest (AOI; therefore the record is deleted) but then back into your AOI in the future. This could also occur if you alter your AOI.

  • A record has failed data validation upon a change being made. This can result dependent on the change being made in the record being deleted and then reintroduced when the error is fixed by the data supplier.

  If a UPRN is deleted, it will not be reallocated to a different property and it therefore remains the unique identifier for a property.

The following sections describes how to load AddressBase Core into two popular databases.

alter table dbo.ADDRESSBASE_CORE add primary key ([UPRN]);

alter table dbo.ADDRESSBASE_CORE
add geometry_column as geometry::Point([easting],[northing], 27700);

This section of the getting started guide takes you through the process of downloading and extracting your AddressBase Core supply.

Data supply

AddressBase Core is supplied in two optional offerings:

• As a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) which provides national Great Britain data in one of two formats: Comma Separated Values (CSV) and GeoPackage (GPKG).

• In 5km tiles in one of two formats: CSV and GPKG. CSVs are supplied as individual tiles where multiples are selected, whereas GPKG are only ever supplied as one file.

Backing up the data

We recommend that you copy your data supply to a backup medium, particularly if you take a COU supply to keep an archive of records. Please read for more Information on how to do this.

Typical data volumes

For reading purposes, we recommend you store the data on a single hard disc. This speeds up your computer's ability to read the data.

Unzipped file sizes for a full supply of the product are as follows:

• CSV 8GB

• GPKG 12GB

Unzipped file sizes of the COU will vary upon each release as this will be dependent on the number of changes or records within a given tile.

Downloading instructions

PSGA customers can download full supply and COU of AddressBase Core via our download service.

2. If you have ordered your data from our online portal, you will be sent an email with a link to a download page.

3. Within the PSGA members’ area, you can order and download the data that you require by clicking on Order Data, which is found under the Map Data heading.

4. Once you have selected Order Data, you will be presented with the Order page. From here, you can manage all your orders, including those for AddressBase products.

5. When you have placed an order for a product, the data will become available as a zipped data file.

Unzipping the data

The CSV and GPKG data are supplied in a compressed form (zip). Some software can access these files directly, while others will require it to be unzipped.

To unzip the zipped data files (.zip extension), use an unzipping utility found on most PCs, for example, WinZip. Alternatively, open-source zipping/unzipping software can be downloaded from the Internet, for example, 7-Zip.

The first level zip folder will contain the following:

• Order Details.txt – a summary of the order including order type, format and information on files supplied.

• Zipped folder with the product inside – this will be named as follows: AddressBaseCore_{variant}_{order_date_YYYY-MM-DD}_{file_number_NNN}.{format}.zip

  • variant: FULL or COU

  • order_date: Date the order was received, for example, 2020-02-11

  • file_number: Three-digit zero padded file number, for example, 001

  • format: csv, gpkg

Example:

• AddressBaseCore_FULL_2020-01-30_001.gpkg.zip or

• AddressBaseCore_COU_2020-01-30_001.csv.zip

The product within the ZIP folder will use the same naming convention as above but without the .zip at the end.

AddressBase Core is a simple, accessible addressing data product giving Plug and Play access to Great Britain addressing data and additional attribution, without being time-consuming or complex. It provides live addressing records for England, Wales and Scotland based on Local Authority holdings of the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG). Other attribution includes secondary level classifications (detailing the use and type of an address) and a representative point code describing the positional quality of coordinates.

This technical specification includes the following sections:

• Data formats

• Supply and update

• Attributes

• Code lists and enumerations

• Example records

The primary supply mechanism of AddressBase Core is a Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS). A MGBS supply is a supply of data for the whole of Great Britain; it is provided as a single file containing all records with headers already included (CSV) or the structure already defined (GPKG).

Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA) customers are also able to order individual or multiple 5km tiles of interest rather than a MGBS if they wish. This can be ordered as a Full Supply (GKPG and CSV formats) or Changed Tiles (CSV format only).

OS Partners are also able to access tile supplies.

Managed Great Britain Set (Unzipped)

If you receive your data as a MGBS; the filename will be constructed as (unzipped):

productName_supply_ccyy-mm-dd_vvv.format

Where:

• productName: AddressBaseCore supply is defined as FULL or COU

• ccyy-mm-dd: The date the file was generated

• vvv: The volume number of the file

• format: The format of the files received, for example, csv or gkpg For example:

  • AddressBaseCore_FULL_2020-07-01_001.gkpg (GKPG full supply)

  • AddressBaseCore_COU_2020-07-01_001.csv (CSV COU supply)

Managed Great Britain Set (zipped)

If the data has been provided in a ZIP file the following convention will be followed:

productName_supply_ccyy-mm-dd_vv.format.zip

For example:

• AddressBaseCore_FULL_2020-07-01_001.csv.zip (CSV full supply zipped)

5km tile supplies (Unzipped CSV)

If you order a CSV format for one tile or a selection tiles, the filename of each tile will be:

ngxxyy.format

Where:

• ngxxyy: The four-digit grid reference belonging to the 1 km south-west corner of the 5 km chunk.

• format: The format of the files received, i.e. csv.

For example:

• NC4040.csv (CSV Tile supply)

5km Tile Supplies (zipped CSV)

If the data has been provided in a ZIP file the following convention will be followed for each tile:

ngxxyy.zip

For example:

• NC4040.zip (Tile supply zipped)

5km Tile Supplies (Unzipped GPKG)

If you order a GPKG format for one tile or a selection tiles, the filename will be constructed as:

OrderID.format

Where:

• OrderID: The ID that is assigned to each order

• format: The format of the files received, that is, gkpg

For example:

• 1002-1700-RAND-1000.gpkg (CSV Tile Supply)

Geographic chunks (zipped GPKG)

If the data has been provided in a ZIP file the following convention will be followed:

OrderID.format.zip

For example:

• 1002-1700-RAND-1000.gpkg.zip (Tile supply zipped)

COU supply

AddressBase Core is available as a Full Supply or Change Only Update (COU) for MGBS supplies. A COU supply of data contains records or files that have changed between product refresh cycles. The primary benefit in supplying data in this way is that volumes are smaller reducing the amount of data that requires processing when compared to a Full Supply.

COU data enables you to identify three types of change if they are using the Managed Great Britain Sets of data:

1. Deletes (CHANGE_TYPE ‘D’) are objects that have ceased to exist in your area of interest since the last product refresh.

2. Inserts (CHANGE_TYPE ‘I’) are objects that have been newly inserted into your area of interest since the last product refresh.

3. Updates (CHANGE_TYPE ‘U’) are objects that have been updated in your area of interest since the last product refresh.

Managed Great Britain Set (MGBS) COU

A COU file for MGBS data can be identified by its naming convention as detailed in previous sections.

Any change record will be provided as a full record with the appropriate change type, as listed above.

Tile supply COU

A tile-based COU is supplied differently to the MGBS supplies. If a single address record has changed within a specified 5km tile, the entire 5km tile containing all features will be supplied. This means the user will need to remove all features that previously existed in the provided tile(s) and insert the entire new tile(s) in its place.

Archiving

When users are Deleting, Inserting or Updating features it is up to the user to consider their archiving requirements. If deleted records are important to your business requirements you must take appropriate action to archive previous records.

The AddressBase Core product is distributed as a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file or GeoPackage (GPKG). CSV files can be supplied as a Full Supply or Change Only Update (COU) when taking Managed Great Britain Sets (MGBS); or Full Supply or changed tiles when taking tile supplies. GPKG is only available as Full Supply for both MGBS and tile supplies.

CSV

The CSV format of AddressBase Core means:

1. Column headers are included in the file.

2. There is one record per line in each file.

3. Fields are separated by commas.

4. No comma is placed at the end of each row in the file.

5. Records are terminated by carriage return/line feed.

For MGBS orders, one file containing all records is produced.

GPKG

GPKG is an open, standards-based, platform-independent data format for transferring geospatial information as defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). It is designed to be a lightweight format that can contain large amounts of varied and complex data in a single, easy-to-distribute and ready-to-use file.

GPKG offers the following benefits:

1. The single file is easy to transfer and offers the end-user a rich experience.

2. Attribute names are not limited in length making it customer friendly.

3. No file size limit, so lots of data can be easily accommodated.

4. Supports raster, vector and database formats making it a highly versatile solution.

5. Conforms to OGC standard.

6. In most cases, it is a Plug and Play format.

For both MGBS and tile supplies, GeoPackage supplies will be provided as one file.

The following sub-sections provide details about the attributes included in AddressBase Core, their data types in the different output formats, and other important metadata about them.

AddressBase Core attributes

fid

A non-persistent integer which is autogenerated and is required within the OGC GPKG format.

• Attribute Name: Not provided (CSV), fid (GKPG)

• Data Type: Integer

• Multiplicity: [1]

UPRN

Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) assigned by the LLPG Custodian or Ordnance Survey.

• Attribute Name: UPRN (CSV), uprn (GKPG)

• Data Type: Integer

• Size: 12

• Multiplicity: [1]

Parent UPRN

UPRN of the parent Record if a parent-child relationship exists.

• Attribute Name: PARENT_UPRN (CSV), parent_uprn (GKPG)

• Data Type: Integer

• Size: 12

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

UDPRN

Royal Mail’s Unique Delivery Point Reference Number (UDPRN).

• Attribute Name: UDPRN (CSV), udprn (GKPG)

• Data Type: Integer

• Size: 8

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

USRN

Unique Street Reference Number assigned by the Street Name and Numbering Custodian OR Ordnance Survey depending on the address record.

• Attribute Name: USRN (CSV), usrn (GKPG)

• Data Type: Integer

• Size: 8

• Multiplicity: [1]

TOID

The Topographic Identifier taken from OS MasterMap Topography Layer. This TOID is assigned to the UPRN by performing a spatial intersection between the two identifiers. It consists of the letters ‘osgb’ and is followed by up to sixteen digits.

• Attribute Name: TOID (CSV), toid (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 20

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Classification code

A code that describes the classification of the address record to a maximum of a secondary level.

• Attribute Name: CLASSIFICATION_CODE (CSV), classification_code (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 4

• Multiplicity: [1]

Easting

A value in metres defining the x location in accordance with the British National Grid.

• Attribute Name: EASTING (CSV), easting (GKPG)

• Data Type: Float

• Size: (precision, scale) – (8, 2)

• Multiplicity: [1]

Northing

A value in metres defining the y location in accordance with the British National Grid.

• Attribute Name: NORTHING (CSV), northing (GKPG)

• Data Type: Float

• Size: (precision, scale) – (9, 2)

• Multiplicity: [1]

Latitude

A value defining the Latitude location in accordance with the ETRS89 coordinate reference system.

• Attribute Name: LATITUDE (CSV), latitude (GKPG)

• Data Type: Float

• Size: (precision, scale) – (9, 7)

• Multiplicity: [1]

Longitude

A value defining the Longitude location in accordance with the ETRS89 coordinate reference system.

• Attribute Name: LONGITUDE (CSV), longitude (GKPG)

• Data Type: Float

• Size: (precision, scale) – (8, 7)

• Multiplicity: [1]

RPC

Representative Point Code: this describes the accuracy of the coordinate that has been allocated to the UPRN as indicated by the Local Authority and enhanced using large scale OS data.

• Attribute Name: RPC (CSV), rpc (GKPG)

• Code List Name: RPCCode

• Data Type: Integer

• Size: 1

• Multiplicity: [1]

Last update date

The latest date on which any of the attributes on this record were last changed in CCYY-MM-DD format.

• Attribute Name: LAST_UPDATE_DATE (CSV), last_update_date (GKPG)

• Data Type: Date

• Multiplicity: [1]

Single-line address

A single attribute containing text concatenation of the address elements separated by a comma.

• Attribute Name: SINGLE_LINE_ADDRESS (CSV), single_line_address (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 500

• Multiplicity: [1]

Po box

Text concatenation of ‘PO BOX’ and the Post Office Box (PO Box) number or ‘BFPO’ and the British Forces Post Office number.

• Attribute Name: PO_BOX (CSV), po_box (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 13

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Organisation

The organisation name is the business name given, when appropriate, to an address record.

• Attribute Name: ORGANISATION (CSV), organisation (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 100

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Sub building

The sub-building name and/or number for the address record.

• Attribute Name: SUB_BUILDING (CSV), sub_building (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 110

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Building name

The building name is a description applied to a single address or a group of addresses.

• Attribute Name: BUILDING_NAME (CSV), building_name (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 110

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Building number

The building number is a number or range of numbers given to a single address or a group of addresses.

• Attribute Name: BUILDING_NUMBER (CSV), building_number (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 13

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Street name

Street/Road name for the address record.

• Attribute Name: STREET_NAME (CSV), street_name (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 100

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Locality

A locality defines an area or geographical identifier within a town, village or hamlet. Locality represents the lower level geographical area. The locality field should be used in conjunction with the town name and street description fields to uniquely identify geographic area where there may be more than one within an administrative area.

• Attribute Name: LOCALITY (CSV), locality (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 35

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Town name

Geographical town name assigned by the Local Authority. Please note this can be different from the Post Town value assigned by Royal Mail.

• Attribute Name: TOWN_NAME (CSV), town_name (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 35

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Post town

The town or city in which the Royal Mail sorting office is located which services this address record.

• Attribute Name: POST_TOWN (CSV), post_town (GKPG)

• Condition: POST_TOWN is not populated if this is the same as TOWN_NAME

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 30

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Island

Third level of geographic area name to record island names where appropriate.

• Attribute Name: ISLAND (CSV), island (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 50

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Postcode

Third level of geographic area name to record island names where appropriate.

• Attribute Name: POSTCODE (CSV), postcode (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 8

• Multiplicity: [1]

Delivery point suffix

A two-character code uniquely identifying an individual delivery point within a postcode, assigned by Royal Mail.

• Attribute Name: DELIVERY_POINT_SUFFIX (CSV), delivery_point-suffix (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 2

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

GSS code

The Office for National Statistics Governmental Statistical Service (GSS) code representing the contributing Local Authority.

• Attribute Name: GSS_CODE (CSV), gss_code (GKPG)

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 9

• Multiplicity: [0..1]

Change code

Type of record change.

• Attribute Name: CHANGE_CODE (CSV), change_code (GKPG)

• Code List Name: ChangeTypeCode

• Data Type: varchar

• Size: 1

• Multiplicity: [1]

A code list or enumeration is a controlled set of values which can be used to populate a specific column.

AddressBase Core code lists an enumerations:

• RPCCode

• ChangeTypeCode

CSV supply

Original Supply

UPRN,PARENT_UPRN,UDPRN,USRN,TOID,CLASS,EASTING,NORTHING,LATITUDE,LONGITUDE,RPC,LAST_UPDATE_DATE,SINGLE_LINE_ADDRESS,PO_BOX,ORGANISATION,SUB_BUILDING,BUILDING_NAME,BUILDING_NUMBER,STREET_NAME,LOCALITY,TOWN_NAME,POST_TOWN,ISLAND,P OSTCODE,DELIVERY_POINT_SUFFIX,GSS_CODE,CHANGE_CODE
200010019924,,52126562,40020087,"osgb1000002682081995","C",437318,115539,50.9380858,-1.4702581,2,2020-01-06,"ORDNANCE SURVEY, 4 ADANAC DRIVE, NURSLING, SOUTHAMPTON, SO16 0AS","","ORDNANCE SURVEY","","","4","ADANAC
DRIVE","","NURSLING","SOUTHAMPTON","","SO16 0AS","1A","E07000093","I"

COU Supply

Changed fields are annotated (underlined).

UPRN,PARENT_UPRN,UDPRN,USRN,TOID,CLASS,EASTING,NORTHING,LATITUDE,LONGITUDE,RPC,LAST_UPDATE_DATE,SINGLE_LINE_ADDRESS,PO_BOX,ORGANISATION,SUB_BUILDING,BUILDING_NAME,BUILDING_NUMBER,STREET_NAME,LOCALITY,TOWN_NAME,POST_TOWN,ISLAND,P OSTCODE,DELIVERY_POINT_SUFFIX,GSS_CODE,CHANGE_CODE
200010019924,,52126562,40020087,"osgb1000002682081995","CO",437318,115539,50.9380858,-1.4702581,1,2020-01-06,"ORDNANCE SURVEY, 4 ADANAC DRIVE, NURSLING, SOUTHAMPTON, SO16 0AS","","ORDNANCE SURVEY","","","4","ADANAC
DRIVE","","NURSLING","SOUTHAMPTON","","SO16 0AS","1A","E07000093","U"

Tiled orders allow you to select a small region of Great Britain (GB), rather than having to order the whole of GB. Ordering tiles, as opposed to full GB coverage, reduces the amount of data supplied. This reduces data storage size and the time it takes to process the data.

AddressBase Core tiles can be downloaded through Ordnance Survey’s download service. See Downloading a dataset for full details about accessing this service. To order tiles:

1. Access the OS orders site and select AddressBase Core – 5km DOWNLOAD.

2. Select either a self-drawn polygon, a rectangle or a postcode/place. These options are available in the toolbar above the map. Once you have selected your area of interest (AOI), you can proceed to place your order.

Dependent on whether you are a PSGA customer or an OS Partner, the tiles are supplied as either GKPG or CSV.

You are provided with all 5km tiles that intersect the drawn polygon. The diagram below shows what is supplied when completing a tile order. An area of interest is drawn (blue lines) and a tile is provided for anywhere the drawn area of interest intersects (green lines).

For a GPKG download, you receive tiled data incorporated into one single GKPG file. For CSV tile supplies, individual 5km tiles are supplied for each tile which intersects your AOI.

The diagram below illustrates the format, coverage and supply type of AddressBase Core, specifically highlighting the tile supply options.

Each supply type is covered in the sections that follow.

GPKG

Both GB coverage and tiled supply of GKPG is produced as a full supply only. Both product variants result in you receiving one consolidated GPKG file for your order.

To use this in your GIS software, please refer to Getting started with AddressBase Core > GPKG data, which provides instructions to load GPKG into ArcGIS Pro, ArcMap, QGIS, MapInfo Professional and CadCorp Map Modeller.

CSV

Tiled orders are also an option for CSV supplies of AddressBase Core. The CSV is divided into 5km tiles with an individual CSV produced for each tile. This is the case for both full supply and COU. Each CSV is also be provided with a header, which needs to be considered if you want to consolidate multiple individual tiles into one single file.

One use case for taking tiled coverage is if you only need a small subset of addresses within GB, as this provides you with a smaller data holding than taking all of GB .

If you are planning on using the tile supplies for COU purposes, you need to understand the data structure of the full supply and COU files you will download.

If you select to receive COU tile supplies, if any record within a selected 5km tile is changed between two releases of data (each week), you will receive the entire 5km tile in your next supply containing all of the latest live records for that tile.

For example, as demonstrated in the table below, the original full supply contains the address 17 THE BROADS, PAMPHILL, WIMBORNE, BH21 4DR, and the next COU data does not . However, the full supply does include an additional record, 37 THE BADGERS, PAMPHILL, BH21 4SH. This means that the 17 THE BROADS address has been deleted between the two releases, and 37 THE BADGERS is a new address.

To implement COU, we recommend that you process the full supply and the COU data files into a common structure to be used in conjunction with SQL. You can do this by appending a tilename column onto the full supply and COU data when the CSVs are merged, as shown in the table below.

AddressBaseCore_COU_2020-01-30_SU2075.csv.zip

Ordnance Survey provides FME Workbench and NodeJS scripts to help to pre-process the data as described in the sections that follow. You can access these scripts in our GitHub repository:

• FME workbench

• NodeJS

A README file with usage instructions is provided for both scripts.

The data, either full supply or COU, should now be combined in one CSV file, under one header, with an appended tilename column. Once the data has been pre-processed, it can be loaded into any database. The next sub-sections will detail the different loads of full supply and COU.

Full supply

Once the full supply CSV has been pre-processed, the COPY load method can be used to load the data into your primary database table:

COPY addressbase_core FROM ‘PATH TO PROCESSED FULL SUPPLY ' DELIMITER ',' CSV HEADER;

In this example, addressbase_core is the name of the table. You may use a different name. To use this table in a geospatial setting, geometry columns will need to be inserted using the following SQL:

SELECT AddGeometryColumn (<schema_name>, 'addressbase_core', <column_name>, 27700, 'POINT', 2);
COMMIT;
UPDATE addressbase_core SET geom = ST_GeomFromText('POINT(' || easting || ' ' || northing || ') ', 27700 )
COMMIT;

COU supply

A similar method can be used to insert the COU data into a database. Similarly, addressbase_core_cou is the name given to the database table. You may use a different name.

COPY addressbase_core_cou FROM ‘PATH TO PROCESSED COU CSV ' DELIMITER ',' CSV HEADER;
SELECT AddGeometryColumn (<schema_name>, 'addressbase_core_cou', <column_name>, 27700, 'POINT', 2);
COMMIT;
UPDATE addressbase_core_cou SET geom = ST_GeomFromText('POINT(' || easting || ' ' || northing || ') ', 27700 );
COMMIT;

Application of COU to the primary table

1. If you are applying COU to your primary table, you should now have two tables in your selected database:

   • A primary table which contains some out-of-date data.

   • A COU table with the live data.

2. To update your primary table, there are two basic steps to follow using SQL commands:

   • Delete all rows that contain tilenames that match the tilenames of the incoming COU.

   • Insert all rows from the COU table to the primary table.

The following SQL commands will complete the application of COU into the primary table:

1. Index the tilename column on to the primary table:

   Copy

   CREATE INDEX ON addressbase_core (tilename);

2. Index the tilename column on to the COU table: CREATE INDEX ON addressbase_core_cou (tilename);

   Copy

   CREATE INDEX ON addressbase_core_cou (tilename);

3. Delete from the primary table any records which have a tilename that matches a tilename from your COU table:

   Copy

   DELETE FROM addressbase_core WHERE tilename IN (SELECT DISTINCT(tilename) FROM addressbase_core_cou);
   COMMIT;

4. Insert the live COU data into the primary table:

   Copy

   INSERT INTO addressbase_core_cou SELECT * FROM abcore.abcore_cou; COMMIT;

Local Authority data is at the heart of AddressBase Core. This data provides you with a complete address product; access to over 33 million addresses each unique referenced with the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) and property level coordinates.

AddressBase Core is a new addition to the addressing portfolio, which was released in July 2020.

AddressBase Core takes many of the important elements from the other AddressBase products, such as coordinates, classification and cross-references to connect address information to other products via key identifiers.

AddressBase Core's primary source of addressing information is Local Authority data from the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) and One Scotland Gazetteer (OSG). They have the legal responsibility to capture and maintain address data for Great Britain, so you are assured of its authenticity and legal nature.

Address information is provided in an easy-to-use format alongside a single line attribute which concatenates all the address elements into what you would expect to see on an envelope. It is updated weekly and is offered in an easier to digest format to make the product as easy to access and use as possible.

Customers have asked for easy file formats, so CSV and GeoPackage are available for this product, with headers included – removing the need for any post-processing. Simply load, or drag and drop into a GIS package to start analysing.

How to get this product

Access to this product is free for PSGA members. Find out if you are a PSGA member or try out a sample of AddressBase Core data by accessing the product page here with links to all of the relevant resources. Alternatively, you can try out the full product by applying for a Data Exploration license.

Government Statistical Services codes

The Government Statistical Services (GSS) code is a nine character unique identifier for each local authority maintained by the Office for National Statistics.

Classification codes

A list of codes which describe the type of address contained within AddressBase Core.