WLDC and GeODC: Improving Service to Home Buyers

06 July 2007, 9:31am

GeODC helps West Lancashire improve service to home buyers

West Lancashire District Council has awarded a
contract to data capture and conversion specialists GeODC to computerise 30
years of planning and land charges records. The contract covers the capture of
documents and plans relating to each of the 52,000 properties in the district
together with approximately 17,000 historical planning applications dating
back to 1977 and other records that form part of the Council’s planning and
land charges archive. The data capture exercise is part of a project by West
Lancashire to provide a computerised land charges service improving the speed
and efficiency of service delivery to prospective property purchasers.

West Lancashire District Council retains approximately 52,000 two page,
twelve part property registers, one for every property in the district. Each
register contains information relating to the individual features of the property
and the limitations, requirements and specific planning restrictions
pertaining to it. As part of the project to provide a computerised land charges
service GeODC will scan, index and match every record to the Council’s
centralised address database; their Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG).

GeODC will also capture additional planning information including the
scanning from microfiche of approximately 17,000 planning application records from
the period 1977 to 1989. Plans relating to each application will be matched
to the Council’s Ordnance Survey mapping for use in a geographical information
system (GIS) and GeODC will capture textual information from decision
notices and appeals. Additional records, including Compensation Notices, Compulsory
Purchase Orders and other miscellaneous orders and charges notices, will
also be scanned, indexed and referenced.

“Once complete this project will assist us in meeting our targets for electronic delivery of council services and information while improving public access to the planning system,” said Stephen Tinsley, Purchasing and Land Charges Manager. “GeODC were able to demonstrate previous experience, deliver a
comprehensive project methodology all at a competitive price,” he continued.

GeODC is a specialist data capture and conversion company providing a range
of services for the GIS and Local Government market. The company is a partnership between Oxford Data Capture Ltd and Genesys International Corporation, combining Oxford Data Capture’s reputation in providing flexible data capture,conversion and consultancy projects in the UK with the global data generation, manipulation, management and maintenance facilities of Genesys. GeODC have
more than 25 years experience delivering data solutions to both public and private sector organisations.

www.geodc.co.uk

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