May 21, 2007 -- Malvern Hills District Council has updated its library of aerial photography by acquiring new high resolution imagery from Getmapping Plc, the leading supplier of aerial photography in Britain. An essential tool for departments within the local authority, the photography of the district will assist the council in monitoring developments and changes in the area.

Renowned as a region of natural beauty, Malvern Hills lies in Worcestershire, stretching from Tenbury Wells through Malvern, down to Upton upon Severn. Getmapping has supplied 575 sq km of the region in 12.5cm high resolution imagery.

The aerial imagery will be added to the council’s existing library of 25cm resolution maps which originated in 1999. The increased clarity from the 12.5cm photography provides greater detail such as street furniture and species of trees. This offers added value to active users in departments such as planning, environmental health and conservation. When the aerial photography is used in conjunction with the older maps, users are able to observe physical changes in the environment, monitor urban development and control planning applications.

Loretta Nikolic, GIS manager at Malvern Hills District Council says: “Local councils rely heavily on aerial photography and we were in dire need of an update as our previous aerial photography of 25cm resolution was over seven years old. The higher resolution of the new maps provides greater detail and clarity than before. While this doesn’t eliminate on site visits completely, it does save staff time.”

Nikolic continues: “Our GIS system is still under development so only a portion of the council will get access to begin with. Primarily the photography will be used by departments such as conservation, as the images provide far more information than is possible from an OS map; this should help, for example, in their work with tree preservation orders. The aerial photography will also be used by our planners, development control and enforcement officers and in time by Environmental Health teams. It would seem that the uses for our aerial photography keep increasing as more departments find out about it.”

Getmapping’s aerial photography was chosen by Malvern Hills District Council because of the total solution offered by the company. The authority expressed that the technology itself and the excellent service provided, in addition to the perpetuity licence, made Getmapping’s solution a compelling one.

For further information about Getmapping’s aerial photography contact Richard Spooner on 01252 849405 or email: Email Contact

ABOUT GETMAPPING
Getmapping is the UK’s leading provider of aerial photography and digital mapping. Set up in 1998, the geospatial imagery company based in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire is the only business to be re-flying the country at 12.5cm resolution. A reseller of professional mapping, oblique photography, height data, OS maps and third party aerial photography, Getmapping services a wide variety of industries including press and media, local authorities, construction sector, environmental consultants and the public. It also provides mapping services for specific client needs and has undertaken contracts to provide bespoke image databases.

For more information, please contact Babita Wakelin or Jane Nuthall at Getmapping’s press office on 0116 278 7788 or via email: Email Contact or jane@leapfrog.uk.com