Laser-Scan and Ordnance Survey sign agreement for National Land Information Service

Laser-Scan and Ordnance Survey sign agreement for National Land Information Service

NLIS is a Modernising Government initiative to integrate and speed up the process of buying and selling homes in England and Wales. It is scheduled to be available commercially early this year and is intended to reduce from weeks to days the time taken to access and deliver authoritative, accurate and comprehensive information on all land and property. The datasets agreement is important because a cornerstone of the information service is electronic provision of up-to-date, large-scale Ordnance Survey mapping so that property professionals can visually identify and verify the location of property.

Laser-Scan is a member of the Macdonald Dettwiler (MDA) consortium which was awarded the key hub license last year. The hub is there to provide gateway access, electronic payment and data integration services to licensed NLIS channel providers undertaking searches of relevant land and property databases at national and local levels for customers such as solicitors, estate agents and other property professionals. The Ordnance Survey map service is provided initially as Land-Line data within the conveyancing application in the MDA channel. Commenting on Laser-Scan's agreement with Ordnance Survey, Laser-Scan Deputy Chairman Peter Woodsford said:

"This is the first major Services contract on a national scale that Laser-Scan has entered into. It marks a significant new dimension in terms of what we can offer to the market place. Laser-Scan has extensive experience of Ordnance Survey data - we are now deploying that experience in the e-commerce arena. "The new pricing arrangements from Ordnance Survey are a major step forward and we are proud to be the first to take advantage of them in offering targeted services in such an important project as NLIS."

He added: "On-line access to up-to-date mapping by property professionals has never been more important because from 1 April this year they will be required to include a map when submitting data whereas a written description of the location or a postcode would have been acceptable in the past."

At MacDonald Dettwiler, Channel manager Marshall Prentice said: "We are delighted to have Laser-Scan as a partner developing this Ordnance Survey-based map service. We are confident that not only does Laser-Scan have the enthusiasm but also the practical experience of working with the mapping agency to produce a first-class product in a short timeframe."

Gary McDonald, Ordnance Survey's Commercial Sales Manager, commented: "We are delighted that Laser-Scan, as an Ordnance Survey Licensed Partner, has signed this new detailed datasets agreement in support of their NLIS channel service. "The agreement is designed to standardise the terms and conditions by which Ordnance Survey Licensed Partners can provide products and services based on our large-scale datasets, including our flagship Land-Line data. For the first time, such products are available in a new pricing model, allowing pay-as-you-use (PAYU) terms to meet the huge demand for bite-sized amounts of data. " Licensed Partners' customers will be able to conveniently view, plot or download data on their desktop computer ,for their chosen area, anywhere in the country with the facility to show the detailed ground features they require." "This is consistent with Ordnance Survey's aim to spread the use and benefits of our products as widely as possible in the national interest, and for Ordnance Survey and its partners to be the content provider of choice for location-based information."

Background information
Laser-Scan is part of the Yeoman Group plc, an exciting information technology group which bring together expertise in mobile navigation, mapping and communications. The combination of these capabilities puts the Group in a strong position to play a leading role in the future of internet and location services based business. The Yeoman Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

For more information on Laser-Scan contact Mark Coleman, Marketing Manager at +44 (0) 1223 420414, email markc@lsl.co.uk.