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The detail within OS VectorMap Local has been generalised from Ordnance Survey large-scale data. Map generalisation is the process of reducing the scale and complexity of map detail whilst maintaining the important elements and characteristics of the location.
Map generalisation comprises the following processes:
Selection / omission: Some features that appear at larger scales are not selected at smaller scales. For example, individual features in close proximity can be grouped to become a single point.
Simplification: Simplification can take a number of forms in OS VectorMap Local. It can be line simplification, for example, in a vector product, a very winding stream could have the number of data points that represent it reduced.
Exaggeration: The process by which small features that are too important to a particular landscape to be omitted are instead enlarged.
Aggregation: Aggregation is where a number of small features (for example, buildings) are combined to make a single larger feature.
Displacement: The movement of the representation of a feature away from its ground position in order to maintain its prominence.
Coverage is Great Britain.
The British National Grid (BNG) is used in OS VectorMap Local for all formats except vector tiles. The BNG spatial reference system 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.
OS VectorMap Local in vector tiles format is supplied in Web Mercator projection (EPSG:3857). Web Mercator projection uses WGS84 geodetic datum to render the vector tiles.
The BNG is a horizontal spatial reference system only; it does not include a vertical (height) reference system. In OS VectorMap Local, heights are given by the ‘height’ attribute in the ‘SpotHeight’ feature. The geometric attributes therefore contain horizontal geometry only.
Several orthometric height datums are used by Ordnance Survey to define vertical spatial reference systems. The most common of these is Ordnance Datum Newlyn (ODN), which is used throughout mainland Britain. The height information in OS VectorMap Local features does not specify which vertical reference system is used.
OS VectorMap Local is derived from the OS Large-Scale Topographic Database, which is the same data used to update OS large-scale product outputs such as OS MasterMap Topography Layer. This is the most up-to-date data available at OS.
During production, numerous checks are undertaken to ensure that data supplied to customers is both accurate and complete. During digital manipulation, when creating the data, all sources of that data are checked for conformance to specification. These quality control checks take the form of:
Visual checks by operators
Automated tests on the national dataset
Data testing against the product specification
Selective testing carried out on a selection of tiles from a full national set
OS VectorMap Local is supplied to customers quarterly in January, April, July and October, incorporating any updates made by the revision programme.
OS VectorMap Local raster and vector features codes are representations of real-world objects, including buildings, roads, railways, rivers and land area. The data also includes non-topographic features, such as administrative and electoral boundaries, and cartographic text and symbols. The three GeoTIFF raster maps (Full Colour, Backdrop, and Black & White) are designed and built from the same vectors as those that form the vector Geography Markup Language (GML), GeoPackage and vector tile outputs. In order to create clear, cartographically desirable backdrops, not all features available in the vector products are in the raster output. For example, contours and administrative boundaries are only available in the vector data.
OS VectorMap Local vector data is established as six separate feature classes:
Area: For example, building polygons and urban extents
Line: For example, building outlines and tunnel alignments
Text: For example, building and road names
VectorMapPoint: For example, pylons and spot heights
RoadCLine: For road alignments
RailCLine: For rail alignments
A full list of feature classes and their associated attributes is given in the product's Technical Specification, which is available on the Product Support page on the OS website.
Within each feature class, there are several features which are represented in both the raster and vector outputs of the product, including the following:
Buildings: Only buildings over 20m² shown. These are generalised buildings and can be made up of an amalgamation of multiple buildings. Buildings are represented as both standard and important buildings in the dataset. Glasshouses are also included, provided they are over 50m².
Roads: A road is defined as a metalled way for vehicles. Road alignments are approximations of the road centre lines. Roads have a number of classifications in the vector data and these classifications are used to build the road depiction in the raster outputs. The product contains a full connected road system, with additional attribution to determine levels when roads are coincident with other features, for example, bridges.
Rail: All railways are represented as lines and these lines are broken when they pass under bridges, buildings and other obstructing detail. An additional feature class has been included to enable the accurate depiction of railways in both raster and vector data. This feature class contains additional attribution for potential future rail development.
Water: Sea, lakes, ponds, rivers and streams are depicted in vector data as both polygons and line detail and are styled accordingly in the raster outputs. Water features are broken under bridges and other obstructing detail. Tidal limits (mean high and mean low water) are also contained in the data – in England and Wales, these represent the tide limits of mean tides, while in Scotland, these represent the tide limits of mean spring tides.
General line detail: General line detail includes a number of real-world features, including fences, hedges, walls and other minor detail. Tracks and paths are classified together along with other features as general pecked detail. General line detail and general pecked detail display as solid or pecked lines in the raster. In vector outputs, general line detail and general pecked detail are split between rural and urban areas.
Vegetation: Represented as polygons in vector data and styled in the raster. Vegetation does not have explicit bounding features.
Names and cartographic text: There are a number of feature codes that hold names as cartographic text; these feature codes can be found in the product's Technical Specification, which is available on the Product Support page on the OS website.
Ornamental features: These represent landform features, such as slope symbols, flat rock scree and cliffs. In the raster, these features are represented as facsimiles of cartographic artwork, originally drawn on paper maps. In the vector, a suitable style can be applied to provide a traditional artistic representation of landform ornament. Ornament is represented in the vector data as custom landform polygons.
Archaeological and antiquity information: This information is represented in both the raster and vector outputs.
Administrative boundaries: Lines that represents the limit of government administrative areas, for example, County, Region, Island, Parliamentary, Parish, Community and District boundaries are all contained within the vector data.
Urban extents: These are approximations of the extents of urban development as defined by Ordnance Survey. The extents are indictive only and not necessarily aligned to ground features. They have been used to generate different urban and rural depiction in the raster output, for example, in the depiction of Restricted Local Road Access (see the product's Technical Specification, which is available on the Product Support page on the OS website.
Contours: A contour is a line on a map that joins points of equal height. In the product, contours are represented as both index contours at 25m intervals and standard contours at 5m intervals.
OS VectorMap Local is supplied in GeoPackage format. GeoPackage (*.gpkg) is an open, non-proprietary, platform-independent, standards-based data format for geographic information systems (GIS), 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. GeoPackage is natively supported by numerous software applications. GeoPackage offers users the following benefits:
The single file is easy to transfer and offers the end-user a rich experience.
Attribute names are not limited in length, making the format user-friendly.
The file size limit is very large at 140 TB.*
It supports raster, vector and database formats, making it a highly versatile solution.
It is an OGC standard.
In most cases, it is a plug-and-play format.
For information on how to open, use and understand a GeoPackage dataset, please refer to our Getting Started with GeoPackage guide, which is available on the OS website. Further detailed information on GeoPackage can be taken from the GeoPackage website.
* A file size limit might be imposed by the file system to which the file is written.
GeoPackage outputs Booleans as integers, either ‘1’ or ‘0’, where ‘1’ = ‘true’ and ‘0’ = ‘false’. These data types are used on override, suppressed and inTunnel attributes for the RoadCLine Feature Type and on supressed and inTunnel attributes for the RailCLine Feature Type (see Figure 2). GML outputs Booleans as ‘true’ and ‘false’ values.
In instances where a particular feature class is not present in the GML, no tables will be created in the output GeoPackage. For example, some of the sparsely populated tiles may not contain a road or rail feature; in this case, the GeoPackage will be created without RoadCLine and / or RailCLine tables.
OS VectorMap Local is supplied in four different formats:
Raster: GeoTIFF (Geographic Tagged Image File Format) LZW (Lempel Ziv Welch)
Full Colour
Backdrop
Black & White
If LZW compressed formats are used, then registration may be required. Information is available on the Unisys® website.
Vector: GML (Geography Markup Language) 3.2.1
Vector: GeoPackage
Vector: Vector tiles (MBTiles)
GeoTIFF LZW is a TIFF file which has geographic (or cartographic) data embedded as tags within it. The geographic data can then be used to position the image in the correct location and with precise geometry on the screen of a geographic information display.
OS VectorMap Local is supplied in GeoPackage format. GeoPackage (.gpkg) is an open, non-proprietary, platform independent and standards-based data format for geographic information systems (GIS), 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. GeoPackage is natively supported by numerous software applications.
For information on how to open, use and understand a GeoPackage dataset, please refer to our Getting Started with GeoPackage guide here.
OS VectorMap Local is supplied as a national vector tile set in a single MBTiles file (combined from individual PBF tiles). This is a lightweight set of tiles that are efficient to render in supported software, provide high-resolution data and give a seamless experience when zooming in and out. The data is supplied in Web Mercator projection (ESPG:3857).
All formats are available to download from the OS Data Hub.
Please note that as OS VectorMap Local is a premium dataset, it requires users to hold the Premium or Public Sector Plan to access the data.
10 591 tiles, each covering 5km x 5km
Each tile named as 5km, for example, NS56NE.tif
Full supply or change-only update (COU) option; the order option will allow selection between full supply, changed tiles or no update
Approximate file sizes:
Full Colour: 0.3 to 16.2mb
Backdrop: 0.3 to 15.8mb
Black & White: 0.1 to 6mb
As change is generated as real-world change as well as change created through the generalisation process, COU GeoTIFF data volumes will be high.
10 591 tiles each covering 5km x 5km
Each tile named as 5km, for example, NS56NE.gz
Full supply or COU option; the order option will allow selection between full supply, changed features (COU) or no update
Approximate file size of 15kb–1mb
As change is generated as real-world change as well as change created through the generalisation process, COU GML data volumes will be high.
Features that cross tile edges will not be cut, maintaining the topological relationships of all features. These tiles are often referred to as 'hairy' tiles. This avoids the creation of invalid geometries by arbitrary cutting and facilitates greater use of the data in analytical applications. Due to their size, some features (for example, tidelines and contours) will continue to be cut. There will be a requirement for some de-duplication around tile edges.
Full national set or area of interest (AOI) tiles are combined into a single GeoPackage file for each customer supply
Single GeoPackage tiles will be de-duplicated
Full supply option only, no COU
Full national set with an approximate file size of 80gb
Full GB set:
vml_gb_publication date’.file extension
For example, vml_gb_20180101.gpkg
AOI orders:
vml_ordernumber_randomnumber.file extension
For example, vml_12345678_8765abcd.gpkg
A zipped file comprising a single national MBTiles file
The single MBTiles file contains a full set of national vector tiles, with options available to split these out into individual tiles as PBF files
Full national set with an approximate file size of 29gb
The data is not encrypted
Full GB set:
vml_gb.mbtiles
When zipped: vml_mbtiles_gb.zip
This overview introduces OS VectorMap Local and gives context for all users – highlighting key features, examples of potential uses, and listing details such as file sizes, supply formats, etc.
OS VectorMap Local is a mapping dataset designed for providing contextual mapping output on paper, PCs, hand-held devices or the Internet. The vector format of the product consists of layers to enable you to customise and style the output to suit your needs.
The product is generated automatically from the OS Large-Scale Topographic Database with no manual cartographic input. This database is used to update other OS products, including OS MasterMap Topography Layer.
This Overview contains the basic information required to understand and use OS VectorMap Local. For a more detailed technical understanding, please refer to the product's Technical Specification, which is available on the product support page on the OS website.
A national dataset available for backdrop raster mapping; the vector format lends itself to detailed data analysis and bespoke styling.
Automated output taken directly from the OS Large-Scale Topographic Database, giving improved currency and consistency that's in-line with the OS MasterMap Topography Layer product and other OS generalised mapping products.
Maintained feature-level identifiers and feature-level change-only updates (COUs) available (GML only).
Cleaner, clearer raster GeoTIFF (Geographic Tagged Image File Format) outputs, vector stylesheets and Styled Layer Descriptors (SLDs).
Improved generalised building geometries derived from large-scale data.
National connected road network with additional attribution for easier styling.
Features are not cut at tile edges; therefore, the topological relationships of features are maintained.
The nominal viewing scale is 1:10 000, with a recommended viewing scale range of 1:3,000 to 1:20 000.
The purpose of OS VectorMap Local data is to support a wide range of customer applications that utilise geographic information. These applications may include the following:
Real-world analysis: Features are representations of real-world objects, including buildings, roads, railways, rivers and land areas, as well as non-topographic features, such as administrative and electoral boundaries, cartographic text and symbols, and height detail.
Backdrop web mapping: Data can be chosen selectively and customised to suit a range of online user requirements.
Detailed building analysis and assessment: Reduced building generalisation parameters in the product lets users gain a greater understanding of the proximity of natural and man-made risks, such other buildings or rivers with poor drainage.
Basic road routing: The connected road network with additional attribution in the product enables enhanced routing capabilities and cartographic styling for users.
Evaluating possible sites for new amenities: The level of detail provided in the product means that customers can use it to create shortlists for evaluating and planning new site locations without leaving the office.
OS VectorMap Local is a highly-detailed, customisable, street-level map, showing fences, building outlines, paths and street names.
This product is updated quarterly
VectorMap Local is full of rich, detailed mapping attributes and features that improves contextual information and in-depth analysis – especially when compared to alternative data sources.
Prebuilt colour options are available for both vector and raster formats, but vector data is fully customisable. You can design your VML basemap to perfectly suit your needs. This might be to a preferred colour palette, to suit different viewing methods or to highlight features of most interest.
OS VectorMap Local is generated automatically from OS Large Scale Topographic database (used for OS MasterMap Topography Layer), improving currency and consistency to give accurate and reliable real world geographical information.
Access: Download
Data theme: Contextual
Data structure: Raster, Vector (Points, Lines, Polygons, Text)
Coverage: Great Britain
Scale: 1:10 000
Format: GML 3.2.1, GeoPackage, GeoTIFF with LZW compression
Ordering area: All of Great Britain or customisable area (5km2 tiles)
Publication months: January, April, July, October
OS Data Hub plan: Public Sector Plan, Premium Plan, Energy & Infrastructure Plan
Access to this product is free for PSGA members. Find out if you are a PSGA member or try out a sample of OS VectorMap Local data by accessing the VectorMap Local product page with links to all of the relevant resources. Alternatively, you can try out the full product by applying for a Data Exploration license.
This technical specification provides detailed technical information about OS VectorMap Local. It is targeted at technical users and software developers.
OS VectorMap Local is a mapping dataset designed for providing contextual mapping output on paper, PCs, hand-held devices or the Internet. The vector format of the product consists of layers to enable you to customise and style the output to suit your needs.
The product is generated automatically from the OS Large-Scale Topographic Database with no manual cartographic input. This database is used to update other OS products, including OS MasterMap Topography Layer.
This Technical Specification contains detailed technical information about the data in both raster and vector formats. For basic information required to understand and use OS VectorMap Local, please refer to the Overview, which is available on the Product Support page on the OS website.
OS VectorMap Local raster data is supplied in GeoTIFF file format (Geographic Tagged Image File Format). The product is available in three raster formats: Full Colour, Backdrop and Black & White.
GeoTIFF LZW (Lempel Ziv Welch) is a TIFF file which has geographic (or cartographic) data embedded as tags within it. The geographic data can then be used to position the image in the correct location and with precise geometry on the screen of a geographic information display.
When an image is compressed, duplicated data that has no value is removed or saved in a shorter form, reducing a file’s size. For example, if large areas of water are the same tone, only the value for one pixel needs to be saved, together with the locations of the other pixels with the same colour. When the image is edited or displayed, the compression process is reversed. When raster data is compressed, not only are the data volumes reduced, but the user can download, display, edit and transfer images more quickly.
There are two forms of compression: lossless and lossy. OS VectorMap Local raster tiles are lossless compressed.
Lossless compression
As its name suggests, lossless compression does not lose information within an image. A lossless compression retains the original quality of an image when it is uncompressed. This process doesn’t provide much compression, so file sizes remain large. Lossless compression is used mainly where detail is important, such as when planning to make large prints.
GeoTIFF 8-bit LZW compressed
400 dots per inch (DPI)
GeoTIFF 1-bit LZW compressed
400 dots per inch (DPI)
OS VectorMap Local is available in three vector formats:
Geography Markup Language (GML) 3.2.1
GeoPackage
Vector tiles (MBTiles)
These file formats contain a set of features and identifiers which conform to the data structures outlined in the following sub-sections.
In OS VectorMap Local vector data for GML, vector tiles and GeoPackage formats, each feature is given a unique identifier: a featureID. The featureIDs are maintained between iterations. For GML only, this allows feature-level change-only updates (COUs) to be delivered. The COUs will consist of a selection of inserts and deletes related to real-world and generalisation generated change (see the GML overview section of this document for more information). Vector tiles and GeoPackage formats do not have a COU option.
The data structure is described below by means of unified modeling language (UML) class diagrams and accompanying tables containing text. The UML diagrams conform to the approach specified in the ISO 19103 Conceptual Schema.
Colour conventions have been used in the diagrams and tables to distinguish the properties that have been added in this specification. In the UML class diagrams, feature types in the Ordnance Survey product specification are coloured orange. The tables which follow in this Technical Specification use orange for a feature type, blue for a code list and purple for a data type.
The following stereotypes are used on UML elements:
GeoPackage overview
GML overview
Feature types
Code lists
Structured data types
Feature codes and descriptions
Vector tiles overview
Important Buildings classification
Ordnance Survey divides Great Britain into 100km x 100km squares. Each of these squares has a unique two-letter reference, for example, TG in the diagram below.
OS VectorMap Local tiles are identified by quoting the National Grid reference of the southwest corner of the 100km² area they cover, for example, TG.
To describe an OS VectorMap Local raster format tile, which covers 5km x 5km, first add a two-digit reference to the 100km x 100km square reference, with the easting first followed by the northing, for example, TG23. This represents a 10km x 10km area which can be suffixed with a NE, NW, SE or SW to describe the 5km x 5km tile.
A general introductory guide to the British National Grid (BNG) is available on the OS website.
It is the flexibility to select and style the different feature classes in different ways that makes the vector format of OS VectorMap Local such a versatile contextual mapping product. It can be flexibly styled in a wide variety of ways to best provide a geographic context to the customer’s overlay information.
The raster version of the product is styled as Full Colour, Backdrop and Black & White, and these styles are fixed within the limitations of the image viewing software.
Features representing topographic objects and concepts that have a line-based geometry.
An ordered set of points forming a line feature.
Type: GM_Curve
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature identification. IDs will be retained between iterations but will not be version controlled.
Type: CharacterString
Length: 38
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature code to facilitate analysis and styling.
Type: FeatureCodeValue
Length: 5
Multiplicity: [1]
A description of the feature code.
Type: FeatureDescriptionValue
Length: 60
Multiplicity: [1]
Features representing topographic objects and other concepts that have a point-based geometry.
A pair of easting and northing co-ordinates in metres, defining a horizontal location in the British National Grid spatial reference system.
Type: GM_Point
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature identification. IDs will be retained between iterations but will not be version controlled.
Type: CharacterString
Length: 38
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature code to facilitate analysis and styling.
Type: FeatureCodeValue
Length: 5
Multiplicity: [1]
A description of the feature code.
Type: FeatureDescriptionValue
Length: 60
Multiplicity: [1]
The orientation of symbol features for cartographic placement. Given in tenths of a degree anticlockwise from due east (0–3599).
Type: Angle
Length: 4
Multiplicity: [1]
Geography Markup Language (GML) is an XML grammar for expressing geographic features. GML serves as a modeling language for geographic systems as well as an open interchange format for geographic transactions on the Internet. More information can be found on the .
The XML specifications that GML is based on are available from the .
Information about Unicode and UTF-8, the character encoding we have chosen, is available on the .
Feature attribute: A property of a feature implemented as an XML element, as defined in ISO 19109.
XML attribute: Attribute as used in an XML context is referred to as an XML attribute.
Property: Most feature attributes are encoded as GML properties – property means a GML property.
XML schemas are used to define and validate the format and content of the GML. The GML 3.2.1 specification provides a set of schemas that define the GML feature constructs and geometric types. These are designed to be used as a basis for building application-specific schemas, which define the data content.
The Ordnance Survey application schemas, which are referenced by the data, are available These schemas make use of XML schema definitions (XSDs) and document type definitions (DTDs) produced by the W3C, which are available from the .
The W3C-provided XSDs and DTDs are as follows:
xml.xsd: to allow the use of the xml:lang attribute for language qualification.
XMLSchema.dtd: Required by xml.xsd.
datatypes.dtd: Required by XMLSchema.dtd.
The OGC-provided schemas are:
feature.xsd: The feature and property constructs.
geometry.xsd: The geometric constructs, such as polygon and point.
xlinks.xsd: A schema based on the W3C XLINK recommendation provided by the OGC to make use of the XLINK constructs.
The Ordnance Survey-provided schema is as follows:
OSVectorMapLocal.xsd: The feature type, complex type, and simple type declarations.
The ‘OSVectorMapLocal’ schema document defines the following XML namespaces:
The location of the schema is defined as:
GML is designed to support a wide variety of capabilities, ranging from simple contextual mapping, such as OS VectorMap Local, to products that include complex geometric property types or even spatial and temporal topology. The Simple Features Profile of GML 3.2.1 defines a restricted subset of GML, allowing scope for greater interoperability.
This product conforms to Simple Features Profile – Level 0.
A geometric property is one that describes a specific geometry. All geometric properties are encoded according to the Simple Features Profile, as referenced above.
The XML attribute ‘srsName’ shall be set to ‘urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::27700’, which uses eastings and
northings specified in metres.
EPSG (European Petroleum Survey Group) provides numeric identifiers for many common projections and associated projections or coordinate metadata (such as measurement units or central meridian) for each identifier.
OS VectorMap Local data is available in GML 3.2.1, the most up-to-date version of GML used by Ordnance Survey. This is a simplified single file schema. Code lists will be managed as Code list dictionaries, residing outside of the product schema. Enumerations have been removed.
GML 3.2.1 is supported by most software suppliers and can be read natively with multiple GIS packages without the need for a translator.
OS VectorMap Local will provide GML feature-level change-only updates (COUs). Only change features will be supplied, rather than all of the data within a tile that has changed within it. The product contains maintained feature-level identifiers to enable change to be detected between releases. These identifiers will not have version information.
The features within a COU file will be supplied as transactions. In the OS VectorMap Local product, a transaction identifies whether a feature is new or if it has been removed from the product. These two types of transaction are defined as follows:
<os:insert> These are features which have been newly inserted into the product or the customer’s area of interest (AOI) since the last product supply.
<os:delete> These are features which have ceased to exist in the last product release or features that have moved out of the customer’s AOI. Features which have been deleted will be supplied with the entire feature’s attribution. These features should be removed from the customer's live data holding.
Existing features which have undergone a generalisation, geometry or attribution change since the previous release will be managed in the following way: the feature that existed in the previous release will be entered as a deleted feature in the new COU release, and a new feature with a new ID will be added as an insert, replacing the deleted feature.
In order to maintain the topological relationships of features, the product will not ‘cut’ features at tile edges. This will remove the requirement to merge features which have been separated artificially at tile edges. Exceptions to this include contours, tidal limits (mean high and mean low water) and boundary features.
This will require holdings to be de-duplicated once all tiles have been loaded due to duplication of features which cross tile edges.
In order to remove legacy data and improve the analytical capability of the product, we have added an additional feature class, RailCLine. A number of feature codes have been added, while others have been removed.
The unified modeling language (UML) class diagram of OS VectorMap Local in GML format can be seen below. In the UML diagram, feature types from the Ordnance Survey product specification are orange, all code lists are coloured blue and data type is purple.
Features representing topographic objects that have a polygon-based geometry.
A polygon is a single closed region defined by a set of lines that represent the boundaries.
Type: GM_Surface
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature identification. IDs will be retained between iterations, but they will not be version controlled.
Type: CharacterString
Length: 38
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature code to facilitate analysis and styling.
Type: FeatureCodeValue
Length: 5
Multiplicity: [1]
A description of the feature code.
Type: FeatureDescriptionValue
Length: 60
Multiplicity: [1]
| Stereotype | UML element | Description |
|---|---|---|
local
gml
xsi
FeatureType
Class
A spatial object type [ISO 19136].
Codelist
Class
A controlled set of values for a free text data type that may be extended.
DataType
Class
Structured data type.
A code list is a controlled set of allowable labels or codes represented as an alphanumeric attribute. The pages in this section show the code lists used within OS VectorMap Local. Some of the code lists apply to attributes of multiple feature types, whereas others will only apply to attributes of one feature type.
Attribution that defines text placement and appearance.
A number between 0 and 8 that specifies which part of the text is bound to the anchorPoint.
Type: AnchorPositionValue
Length: 1
Multiplicity: [1]
A value of 0, 1 or 4 that can be used as a basis for determining which font to use when displaying the text.
Type: TextFontValue
Length: 1
Multiplicity: [1]
The height of Text. The height is expressed as the distance on the ground covered by the text, in metres.
Type: Integer
Length: 3
Multiplicity: [1]
The orientation of text or symbol features for cartographic placement, and for text. Given in tenths of a degree anticlockwise from due east (0–3599).
Type: Angle
Length: 5
Multiplicity: [1]
This section describes the structured data types which make up OS VectorMap Local. The attributes associated with these data types are listed below along with a brief description of their data properties.
The name of the attribute and what it is describing.
The nature of the attribute, for example a numeric value or a code list value.
The length of the attribute provided (optional).
Describes how many times this element is expected to be populated in the data. An attribute may be optional or mandatory within the product. These are denoted by:
‘1’ – there must be a value.
‘0..1’ – population is optional but a maximum of one attribute will be returned These values may be used in combination.
Line representing the estimated centre line of a road.
An ordered set of points forming a line feature.
Type: GM_Curve
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature identification. IDs will be retained between iterations but will not be version controlled.
Type: CharacterString
Length: 38
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature code to facilitate analysis and styling.
Type: FeatureCodeValue
Length: 5
Multiplicity: [1]
A description of the feature code.
Type: FeatureDescriptionValue
Length: 60
Multiplicity: [1]
The number of the road defined by the Department for Transport.
Type: CharacterString
Length: 10
Multiplicity: [0..1]
The name of the road as reflected in local signage.
Type: CharacterString
Length: 100
Multiplicity: [0..1]
The drawLevel value of the Road, used for cartographic styling. The valid values are defined in the DrawLevelValue code list.
Type: DrawLevelValue
Length: 1
Multiplicity: [1]
The override value of the Road, used for cartographic styling.
Type: Boolean
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
The suppressed value of the Road, used for cartographic styling.
Type: Boolean
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
Determines whether the road alignment is in a tunnel and is used for cartographic styling.
Type: Boolean
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
Line representing the estimated centre line of a rail.
An ordered set of points forming a line feature.
Type: GM_Curve
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature identification. IDs will be retained between iterations but will not be version controlled.
Type: CharacterString
Length: 38
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature code to facilitate analysis and styling.
Type: FeatureCodeValue
Length: 5
Multiplicity: [1]
A description of the feature code.
Type: FeatureDescriptionValue
Length: 60
Multiplicity: [1]
The suppressed value of the Road, used for cartographic styling.
Type: Boolean
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
Determines whether the road alignment is in a tunnel and is used for cartographic styling.
Type: Boolean
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
This section describes the features which make up OS VectorMap Local. The attributes associated with these feature types are listed below along with a brief description of their data properties.
The name of the attribute and what it is describing.
The nature of the attribute, for example a numeric value or a code list value.
The length of the attribute provided (optional).
Describes how many times this element is expected to be populated in the data. An attribute may be optional or mandatory within the product. These are denoted by:
‘1’ – there must be a value.
‘0..1’ – population is optional but a maximum of one attribute will be returned These values may be used in combination.
The coordinate position that a piece of text is positioned relative to.
Type: GM_Point
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature identification. IDs will be retained between iterations but will not be version controlled.
Type: CharacterString
Length: 38
Multiplicity: [1]
A unique feature code to facilitate analysis and styling.
Type: FeatureCodeValue
Length: 5
Multiplicity: [1]
A description of what the feature codes represent.
Type: FeatureDescriptionValue
Length: 60
Multiplicity: [1]
Provides the information to graphically display a text string in harmony with the underlying map detail and consists of anchorPosition, font, height and orientation.
Type: textRenderingType
Length: N/A
Multiplicity: [1]
Textual information that can be rendered using the textRendering attribute.
Type: CharacterString
Length: 150
Multiplicity: [1]
OS VectorMap Local is supplied as a national vector tiles set in a single MBTiles file (combined from individual PBF tiles). This is a lightweight set of tiles that are efficient and fast to render in supported software, provide high-resolution data and give a seamless experience when zooming in and out. The data is supplied in Web Mercator projection (EPSG:3857).
The vector tiles schema is detailed in the following table. In the zoom levels columns within the table, the letter N indicates that the specified layer and attribute is not mapped within that zoom level, whereas the letter Y indicates that the specified layer and attribute is mapped within that zoom level.
| Attribute | Zoom level: 0 to 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|
| Attribute | Zoom level: 0 to 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|
| Attribute | Zoom level: 0 to 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|
| Code list: FeatureCodeValue | Code list: FeatureDescriptionValue | Notes (where applicable) |
|---|
| Attribute | Zoom level: 0 to 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|
| Attribute | Zoom level: 0 to 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|
| Attribute | Zoom level: 0 to 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|
0
The default draw level. Roads with draw level 0 are to be displayed first, with draw levels 1, 2 and 3 overlaid on top.
1
Used for road bridges and overpasses. Roads with draw level 1 are to be overlaid on top of draw level 0.
2
Used when there are several coincident levels of road bridge or overpass. Roads with draw level 2 are to be overlaid on top of draw levels 0 and 1.
3
Used when there are several coincident levels of road bridge or overpass. Roads with draw level 3 are to be overlaid on top of draw levels 0, 1 and 2.
feature_id | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_code | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_description | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_id | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_code | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_description | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_id | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_code | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_description | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
orientation | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_id | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_code | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_description | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
road_number | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
road_name | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
draw_level | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
override | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
suppressed | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
in_tunnel | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_id | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_code | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_description | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
suppressed | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
in_tunnel | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_id | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
featur_code | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
feature_description | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
text_rendering_anchor_position | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
text_rendering_area | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
text_rendering_height | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
text_rendering_orientation | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
text_string | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
15010 | Building Outline | N/A |
15011 | Important Building Outline | Buildings defined as important by OS (see Annex A). |
15013 | Glasshouse Outline | N/A |
15017 | Building Name | N/A |
15014 | Building Polygon | Building polygons over 20m². |
15015 | Important Building Name | N/A |
15016 | Glasshouse Polygon | Glasshouse’s polygons over 50m². |
15030 | Urban Extent | An OS approximation of the extents of urban development. |
15031 | Urban General Line Detail | Real-world linear features, including fences, hedges, walls and other minor detail within OS urban areas. |
15032 | Rural General Line Detail | Real-world linear features, including fences, hedges, walls and other minor detail in rural areas. |
15033 | Urban General Pecked Detail | Tracks and paths and other non-obstructing features within urban areas. |
15044 | Rural General Pecked Detail | Tracks and paths and other non-obstructing features within rural areas. |
15100 | Tunnel Alignments | N/A |
15101 | Overhead Peck Detail | Overhead features that are not power lines, for example, aerial ropeways and ski lifts. |
15102 | Electricity Transmission Line | N/A |
15104 | Pylon | N/A |
15110 | Point Feature1 | Generic topographic features which are too small to be represented by an area feature, for example, posts, poles, masts, and wind turbines. |
15120 | Antiquity Site | N/A |
15121 | Antiquity Building Name | N/A |
15112 | Miscellaneous Name | Most generic text, including towns, cities, buildings and general areas names, for example, commons or woodland, etc. |
15122 | Antiquity Miscellaneous Name | N/A |
15200 | Parish Or Community Boundary | N/A |
15201 | District Or LB Boundary | N/A |
15202 | County, Region Or Island Boundary | N/A |
15203 | Parliamentary Boundary | N/A |
15210 | Boundary Text | N/A |
5211 | Boundary Point | N/A |
15300 | Multi Track Railway | N/A |
15302 | Narrow Gauge Railway | N/A |
15301 | Single Track Railway Or Siding | N/A |
15303 | Railway Bridge | N/A |
15304 | Footbridge | N/A |
15400 | Standard Contour Line | 5m vertical interval contour intervals. |
15401 | Index Contour Line | 25m vertical interval contour intervals. |
15403 | Index Contour Label | Index contour height value. |
15404 | Spot Height Label | N/A |
15405 | Spot Height Position | N/A |
15406 | Air Height Position | N/A |
15407 | Air Height Label | N/A |
15408 | Triangulation Station | N/A |
15409 | Standard Contour Label | Standard contour height value. |
15410 | Ridge Or Rock Line | N/A |
15442 | Refuse Or Slag Heap | N/A |
15500 | Coniferous Woodland | N/A |
15501 | Coniferous Woodland And Shrub | N/A |
15502 | Mixed Woodland | N/A |
15503 | Mixed Woodland And Shrub | N/A |
15504 | Broad-leafed Woodland | N/A |
15505 | Broad-leafed Woodland And Shrub | N/A |
15506 | Orchard | N/A |
15507 | Shrub | N/A |
15508 | Shrub And Heathland | N/A |
15509 | Shrub And Unimproved Grass | N/A |
15510 | Shrub And Unimproved Grass And Boulders | N/A |
15511 | Shrub And Marsh | N/A |
15512 | Shrub And Marsh And Heath | N/A |
15513 | Shrub And Marsh And Unimproved Grass | N/A |
15514 | Shrub And Heathland And Unimproved Grass | N/A |
15515 | Shrub And Heathland And Boulders | N/A |
15516 | Shrub And Boulders | N/A |
15517 | Heathland | N/A |
15518 | Heathland And Unimproved Grass | N/A |
15519 | Heathland And Unimproved Grass And Boulders | N/A |
15520 | Heathland And Boulders | N/A |
15521 | Heathland And Marsh | N/A |
15522 | Unimproved Grass | N/A |
15523 | Unimproved Grass And Boulders | N/A |
15524 | Unimproved Grass And Shingle | N/A |
15525 | Unimproved Grass And Sand | N/A |
15526 | Marsh | N/A |
15527 | Marsh And Unimproved Grass | N/A |
15528 | Reeds | N/A |
15529 | Inland Rock | N/A |
15530 | Boulders | N/A |
15531 | Boulders And Shingle | N/A |
15532 | Boulders And Sand | N/A |
15533 | Boulders And Mud | N/A |
15534 | Shingle | N/A |
15535 | Shingle And Sand | N/A |
15536 | Shingle And Mud | N/A |
15537 | Sand | N/A |
15538 | Mud | N/A |
15540 | Vegetation Or Landform Limit | N/A |
15550 | Custom Landform Polygon | A polygon to contain representations of rocks, cliffs, scree and extensive areas of slope. |
15560 | Top Of Standard Slopes | N/A |
15562 | Top Of Cliff | N/A |
15600 | Water Feature | N/A |
15601 | Aqueduct | N/A |
15603 | Water Name | N/A |
15604 | Mean High Water | N/A |
15605 | Mean Low Water | N/A |
15606 | Point Feature Water1 | Generic water features which are too small to be represented by an area feature, for example, wells, springs and collects. |
15608 | Sea Polygon | N/A |
15609 | Inland Water Polygon | Larger inland water bodies, for example, lakes and ponds. |
15610 | Standard Flow Arrow | Indicates direction of flow. |
15611 | Large Flow Arrow | Indicates direction of flow on larger water bodies. |
15701 | General Road Name | N/A |
15710 | Motorway, Alignment | N/A |
15711 | Motorway, Road Number | N/A |
15712 | Motorway, Road Name | N/A |
15720 | A Road, Trunk, Alignment | N/A |
15721 | A Road, Trunk, Road Name | N/A |
15722 | A Road, Trunk, Road Number | N/A |
15723 | A Road, Primary, Alignment | N/A |
15724 | A Road, Primary, Road Name | N/A |
15725 | A Road, Primary, Road Number | N/A |
15726 | A Road, Primary And Trunk, Alignment | N/A |
15727 | A Road, Primary And Trunk, Road Name | N/A |
15728 | A Road, Primary And Trunk, Road Number | N/A |
15729 | A Road, Alignment | N/A |
15730 | A Road, Road Name | N/A |
15731 | A Road, Road Number | N/A |
15740 | B Road, Primary, Alignment | N/A |
15741 | B Road, Primary, Road Name | N/A |
15742 | B Road, Primary, Road Number | N/A |
15743 | B Road, Alignment | N/A |
15744 | B Road, Road Name | N/A |
15745 | B Road, Road Number | N/A |
15750 | Minor Road, Alignment | N/A |
15751 | Minor Road, Road Name | N/A |
15760 | Local Road, Alignment | N/A |
15782 | Restricted Local Access Road, Alignment | N/A |
15761 | Local Road, Road Name | N/A |
15790 | Local Road, Shared Use Carriageway, Alignment | N/A |
15770 | Secondary Access Road, Alignment | N/A |
15791 | Local Road, Shared Use Carriageway, Road Name | N/A |
15771 | Secondary Access Road, Road Name | N/A |
15793 | Restricted Local Access Road, Guided Busway, Alignment | N/A |
15780 | Local Access Road, Alignment | N/A |
15794 | Restricted Local Access Road, Guided Busway, Road Name | N/A |
15781 | Local Access Road, Road Name | N/A |
15783 | Restricted Local Access Road, Road Name | N/A |
15795 | Enclosed Traffic Area, Alignment | Used to ensure road connectivity through enclosed traffic areas, for example, car parks. |
0 | Antiquity descriptions |
1 | Default |
2 | N/A (obsolete value that's no longer utilised in the Text Feature Type) |
3 | N/A (obsolete value that's no longer utilised in the Text Feature Type) |
4 | Detailed road names |
The following OS-defined Functional Sites have been classified as Important Buildings in OS VectorMap Local:
Coastguard Lookout
Fire Service Training
Fire Station
Hospice
Hospital
Lifeboat Station
Police HQ
Police Services
Police Station
First School
Further Education
Higher Education
Infant School
Junior School
Middle School
Non-State Primary Or Preparatory School
Non-State Secondary School
Primary School
School
School For Special Needs
Secondary School
University
University College
Place Of Worship
Cathedral
Chapel
Church
Citadel
Gurdwara
Kingdom Hall
Minster
Mosque
Synagogue
Temple
Bus Station
Coach Station
Funicular Railway Station Or Stop
Passenger Ferry Terminal
Preserved Line Railway Station Or Stop
Principal Railway Station
Railway Station
Ship Passenger Terminal
Vehicular Ferry Terminal
Vehicular Ferry Terminal International
Vehicular Rail Terminal
Tram Station Or Stop
Underground Railway System Station
Aviation Museum
Industrial Museum
Maritime Museum
Military Museum
Museum
Science Museum
Transport Museum
Central Government Services
Customs Inspection
HM Detention Centre
HM Prison Service
Law Court
Local Government Services
Conference Or Exhibition Centre
Hostel
Library
Observatory
Post Office
Tourist Information
Youth Hostel
0 | Lower left text anchor position. |
1 | Middle left text anchor position. |
2 | Upper left text anchor position. |
3 | Lower middle text anchor position. |
4 | Centre text anchor position. |
5 | Upper middle text anchor position. |
6 | Lower right text anchor position. |
7 | Middle right text anchor position. |
8 | Upper right text anchor position. |
Cartographic style definitions for use with OS VectorMap Local – available as a PDF download from the .
The legend for OS VectorMap Local is available as a PDF download from the .
XML schema for OS VectorMap Localis available as a link from the .
Stylesheets for OS VectorMap Local available as a .
