Online Mapping for Weymouth and Portland

"We realised in 2009 that our existing GIS had reached the end of its lifespan." said Councillor Geoff Petherick, Leader of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council. "We decided we needed a technology which would support our internal business processes, and which we could also use to share geographic information with the general public. Following an extensive procurement exercise, we judged that Cadcorp best met our needs."

Cadcorp technology now touches many points in the borough council's handling of geographic information: it is used to manage a centralised Oracle spatial database; it provides desktop GIS for advanced users; it supports intranet web mapping for non-expert users; it provides mapping capabilities for Land Charges, Environmental Health and Property Services; and it now provides on-line mapping for the general public.

Councillor Petherick expanded on the benefits of the latest addition to the borough council's corporate GIS, "Web Map Layers allows us to share accurate information with the general public. Any changes we make to our corporate data can be seen by the public in a matter of seconds. We have also cut out many data handovers, in which we previously had to transcribe data from one system to another. We anticipate this much improved flow-through will drive down our internal costs of data handling. At the same, we anticipate the on-line mapping system will bring savings from channel-shift - allowing the public to access the information they need themselves, by going on-line rather than having to make telephone calls or visit council offices."

"I am sure there will be a huge appetite for the very rich map-based information the council has made available, especially from visitors to the area." said Mike O'Neil, CEO of Cadcorp. "After all, the Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage site, and Portland Harbour is home to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. Web Map Layers should satisfy that appetite, as it has been designed specifically for organisations which need to share map-based information with non-expert users. The map information that tourists and the general public can see is identical to the information available to support council employees. The important difference is the browser-based application - it looks familiar, and it is very easy to use."