Leeds council maps out public services

Leeds City Council is introducing map-based software to simplify online access to public services.

The authority's £4.6m geographical information system (GIS) will give local residents point-and-click access to street services and information.

Council applications such as environmental health and planning will be accessible through the software, so reporting faulty street lamps or requesting land searches will be done using map-based graphics. Searches for council one-stop-shops will show the nearest location with an illustration of the best route to take.

The first phase of the five-year project is an infrastructure overhaul, including replacing the council's servers and upgrading its network. Existing GSI-based applications, including land charges, will be renewed and new applications brought onto the graphical system before they are made available to the public.

Environmental health and planning will be the first service to go live, says Leeds City Council assistant director of strategy and development Eileen Wainwright.

'We want to improve access to services for the public and part of that is giving them access to things in a spatial way,' she said.

'If they are reporting potholes or streetlight problems, or anything where the service is delivered in an area-based way, then it is easier if they can report it geographically.'

The council will also benefit, she says.

'It will also be helpful for us to understand what our needs are in different areas and how we can target resources to meet those needs.'

The council signed a five-year contract with GIS supplier ESRI in November. The technical design is under discussion and orders have been placed for new hardware. Delivery will be phased over the next 18 months.

Additional applications can be added to the GIS system as other areas of the council come up with the business case for doing so, says Wainwright.

There are also plans to link the software with a customer relationship management system so public contact and works orders generated by the system can be tracked.