[The usual apologies for cross-posting - and for not putting in internet link, which I can't find how to do with this e-mail system!!]
About 6 weeks ago it was announced that the OS proposed to make certain data available 'free'. On 23 December OS issued a 'press release', to effect that its 'sponsoring ministry' has issued a consultation paper on
this, with responses to be in by 17 March. Anyone interested can get there fairly quickly by putting 'Ordnance Survey news releases' into a search-engine, and then following the links there.
Three options are suggested in the paper:
(1) roughly as now, but some simplification in charging;
(2) effectively making ALL data available free, and only charging for later processing and dolling-up;
(3) making some data available for free, but leaving most of it, notably all the MasterMap data, roughly as at present, i.e. charged for on a cost-recovery basis.
The whole thing is rather more complicated than that, with various twists and turns, which account partly for the document running to 90 pages!
Richard Oliver
