New spatial analysis tool launched by the HCA
Published date : 6 June 2011
Local Authorities can use spatial data to build a picture of development and better inform investment decisions in their areas in a new way from today, thanks to a powerful enabling tool launched by the Homes and Communities Agency.
SIGnet – the Spatial Intelligence Geographic network – is a free resource developed by the HCA to bring together data from organisations such as Ordnance Survey, the Office for National Statistics, Local Authorities, and the Environment Agency in a single place, allowing it to be viewed on a map and printed as plans or spreadsheet tables.
Users of SIGnet will be able to analyse the data, for example looking at investment compared with land supply, planning constraints and local infrastructure when deciding where to build new and affordable homes in their communities; or map empty homes hotspots showing the relationship with population statistics such as housing need and indices of deprivation.
Oliver Russell, GIS Project Officer at Hampshire County Council, who helped test SIGnet during the pilot phase, said:
"Clearly we already know how many homes we have in the County, or schools, or hospitals; but SIGnet allows us to drill down to individual street level and present data in an easy to use format – such as a map or plan – that anyone can understand. We tested SIGnet and were impressed by its potential not least as an extremely useful tool, but also because it could save us money on buying GIS resource."
Pat Ritchie, Chief Executive of the HCA, said:
"SIGnet makes it easy for councils to build a picture of where buildings such as homes or hospitals or schools are situated in their area; and identify where more are needed based on land availability and population statistics.
"In providing users with a single place to view data that has only previously been available in varying formats and from a number of different sources, SIGnet can be an invaluable planning tool and further strengthens our enabling offer to Local Authorities."
SIGnet is a web-based Geographic Information System which has been launched following testing by 11 local authorities over a 7 month pilot period. It displays spatially referenced data – information which can be located at a specific point on the ground – such as a site boundary, the location of a specific hospital, school or other piece of infrastructure, or population statistics linked to a given area. Local Authorities can look at data on a county-wide basis or drill down to an individual street level, and by using data that has been spatially referenced, SIGnet can help identify relationships between these datasets.
The tool provides a platform to share data across government departments and local authorities, increase transparency by making it easier to access information and puts the power of spatial analysis in the hands of organisations that do not have access to a geographic information system, as well as being of additional value to those that do.
SIGnet includes the Empty Homes Mapping Toolkit launched by the HCA earlier this month and is accessible for free to all of the HCA’s Local Authority or central government partners that are covered by the Public Sector Mapping Agreement. Those interested in accessing SIGnet should email SIGnet@hca.gsx.gov.uk for more information.
Ends
For further media information please contact Rob Davies in the HCA press office on 020 7874 8269 or email robert.davies@hca.gsx.gov.uk
Notes to Editors
Key features of SIGnet include:
- A geographic search tool – allowing users to find streets, places and postcodes to take them direct to their area of interest;
- A data search tool – using keywords to find data where the name of the data set is unknown;
- Metadata (data about data) – showing details including data source, update frequency and the required map scale;
- A data filter – giving users control over what data is displayed and allowing the creation of subsets; and
- Key layers – allowing users to request bespoke datasets from the HCA to create their own spatial data.
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA)is the single, national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England. Our vision is to create opportunity for people to live in homes they can afford in places they want to live, by enabling local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas.