Post #2828484
2026-05-17 13:02 UTC
@harry_wood@en.osm.town Thanks for highlighting this. Ten years ago I hopefully took up the "let's get addresses" right challenge as the problem is already solved: we have definitive addresses for the British Isles. But... Royal Mail are private, and they hold IP on postcodes. This has turned public interest addressing into a labyrinth. OS have gone down the partnership route, and public services can devolve access to contractors, but for Owen's excellent idea to work #FreeThePostcode would be needed first.
Replies (1)
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@joeldn@en.osm.town 2026-05-17 14:46
@harry_wood@en.osm.town people like Nigel Shadbolt from the open data institute have campaigned to #FreeThePostcode and James O'Malley got a minister interested, however without Royal Mail going democratic, our nation's location infrastructure remains exclusive. OS have a few technical partners that can get addresses right, but for the standard to work across systems, inclusive licensing would provide a much needed common ground. Standards only work when people can use them.