A YORK company has been given the right to produce the most up-to-date maps of the city.

York Survey Supply Centre, the winner of The Press Small Business of the Year award in 1996, and the UK's largest mail order supplier of surveying equipment, has been appointed as the primary source for all large-scale mapping in the area.

Appointed as an Ordnance Survey data and mapping centre, the Clifton Moor-based company will produce large-scale mapping as a required part of any planning application and surveying project in the district.

Stuart Rawlings, its managing director, said: "Historically, large-scale mapping has been hard to get hold of in the York area and, as such, we are extremely proud of this appointment."

This new service, available as a same day service, will enable clients to obtain reliable, up-to-date mapping data electronically, for direct input into planning applications.

Maps are printed out direct from live Ordnance Survey data while clients wait, eliminating the need for return visits and subsequent traffic hassles to any mapping sources.

Previously, only City of York Council was able to offer this service, through the maps located in its libraries service.

But now, with York Survey Supply Centre appointed as an Ordnance Survey data and mapping centre, planners and architects can have the data transferred direct to their office in a matter of seconds.

There are currently two services on offer. One is Landplan, a 1:10,000 scale digitally-derived colour mapping service, which works by combining map and database information, and is used by businesses, schools and home users for a variety of purposes, including project planning and land and estate management.

The other service is Sitemap, suitable for clients planning a home extension or carrying out a small building project. These kinds of projects will probably need planning permission from local authorities, who may require up to six site maps.

Ordnance Survey's director general and chief executive, Vanessa Lawrence, said: "These outlets are centres of excellence for all Ordnance Survey products and are exclusive stockists of OS Sitemap. Mapping and data centres are strategically located around the country, each linked to Ordnance Survey's database, so they can supply customers with the very latest mapping on demand."

Brian Dixon, Ordnance Survey's e-channel sales manager, said: "The launch of our mapping and data centres is the latest evolution of our specialist network of retail partners."


- Ben Matthews