It has been estimated that there are over 50,000 carefully preserved paper maps still in existence, showing the estates, townships and parishes of Wales as they looked in the 17th to 19th centuries.  These precious historical documents are dispersed across national archives, regional museums and private estates all around the world, making them not only hard to access, but also unknown to most people who have an interest in Welsh history.

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) or Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru in Welsh, in conjunction with Bangor University, wanted to find a way to collate these invaluable ancient maps of Wales and make them accessible to everyone.  Rather than simply scanning each map and creating a database of digital copies, however, the organisation wanted to knit them all together and overlay them onto modern day mapping to help people see and understand land changes over centuries.

Initially, RCAHMW focused on six parishes in North East Wales and assembled maps from dozens of sources, including the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate.  These ancient maps included tithe maps, originally commissioned to support the collection of taxation between 1836 and 1860, as well as enclosure maps from 1800 to 1830, drawn up at the start of the industrial revolution in Wales.  Looking further back in time, the project team compiled hand-drawn estate maps from the early 1700s, and some even older old estate maps dating from 1620, decades before the English Civil Wars.

RCAHMW digitised these old maps, along with the earliest Ordnance Survey maps, created in three scales between 1869 and 1874.  It used ArcGIS Pro to geographically align all these historic resources with modern mapping.  This was achieved by creating as many as 500 control points, such as the corners of fields, which are unlikely to have changed much over time.  The organisation then used the spline feature in ArcGIS Pro to gently adjust the hand drawn lines and features from the ancient maps until they lined up with the same features in the most up-to-date geographical surveys.

As part of this georeferencing process, RCAHMW vectorised 35,000 individual polygons (such as fields and rivers) over an area of 125 km².  It also captured supplementary information from the ancient paper maps that may have been forgotten over time, such as the names of landowners, commonly used field names, tenants, land use, the extent of common areas, township boundaries and the usage of estate buildings.

Next RCAHMW created a web app in ArcGIS Online, called Deep Mapping Estate Archives, that allows people to explore the maps through the ages and carry out geospatial analysis.  Users can compare landscapes at different points in history and click on any location to open a pop-up box and discover who the landowners or tenants were hundreds of years ago, for example.  The web app is presented in a Deep Mapping website, originally created with ArcGIS Web App Builder and recently updated to ArcGIS Experience Builder, that presents information about the project bilingually in English and Welsh.  Some of the maps are also available to be viewed in 3D, utilising ArcGIS Web Scene.

Modern-day accuracy applied to ancient maps
Through this project, RCAHMW has demonstrated how ArcGIS Pro can be used to effectively capture, geo-reference and vectorise ancient maps. The organisation has transformed historic documents with variable quality into a geographically-accurate, modern-day digital atlas. Recognising this, Jon Dollery, Mapping Officer at RCAHMW, observes, “ArcGIS Pro has enabled RCAHMW to take the accuracy of today and apply it to the past.”

Easy access to rare archived records for everyone
By creating a Deep Mapping app with ArcGIS Experience Builder in ArcGIS Online, RCAHMW has achieved its goal of making exceptionally rare, archived, paper maps acessible to everyone. Free to use, the app is already igniting the interest of members of the public, local historians, educators, academics, social history researchers, local developers and environmental consultants. “Maps that were locked away in archives around the country are now in one place, where everyone can find and enjoy them,” Dollery says.

Greater insight into 400 years of landscape change
By enabling historic maps to be analysed and compared with modern maps, the Deep Mapping app reveals 400 years of landscape changes in Wales that were previously unknown or unrecorded. It is possible to see, for example, where hedgerows have been lost and how river courses have moved over time. RCAHMW anticipates that this insight will be used by developers, environmental consultants and local councils to inform development and conservation initiatives, such reinstating woodland in places where it used to exist.

A deeper appreciation of local history
The Deep Mapping app has received enthusiastic feedback from the residents North East Wales who are fascinated to learn more about their villages and towns. People are using it to see who common land was awarded to 300 years ago, learn where medieval strip farming took place, rediscover lost place names, explore historic estates and gain a deeper appreciation of their local areas. As Dollery concludes with pride, “This initiative really is stimulating interest in local history, and we look forward to expanding it to cover the whole of Wales.”

SFRS operates across an area of 79,900 km² and responds to emergencies in large cities as well as on busy motorways, remote villages, narrow mountain passes and inhabited islands. Given the diverse geography of Scotland, the risks from fire, traffic accidents, flooding and other incidents varies enormously from one location to another. SFRS wanted to find a way to measure and compare risk levels in every community to give it a better understanding of how to optimally allocate its resources.

Identifying that a spatial approach would be needed to address this challenge, SFRS decided to make better use of Esri’s geographic information system (GIS) technology. The organisation already had ArcGIS licenses but had not been making full use of the product’s capabilities. “We effectively had a Formula One racing car in the garage, but no-one was really putting it to the test,” says Damien Griffith, Community Risk Manager at SFRS. “This project was the ideal opportunity to show what ArcGIS could really deliver.”

SFRS started by mapping historic fires and emergencies over the previous ten years in ArcGIS Pro and ranking them from higher priority (e.g. dwelling fires) to lower priority (e.g. animal assistance). It organised this incident data by local area, using Scotland’s 6,976 data zones, adding supplementary data on socio-economic indicators, including the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation and household profiles from Acorn. It then tested relationships between variables using two regression models within a customised R script to generate a risk metric value for each of the 6,976 areas, forming the baseline Community Risk Index Model (CRIM^©).

With assistance from Sweco, a leading European engineering and environment consultancy, SFRS then enhanced CRIM^© by incorporating natural and built environment risk factors, including data on flooding, built-up areas, road networks, land use, buildings and addresses across Scotland. At various stages during the project, SFRS also engaged statisticians from the University of Nottingham and the University of Edinburgh to validate the risk calculations and provide statistical proofing using machine learning algorithms.

Using the risk intelligence derived from the enhanced model, SFRS created an interactive ArcGIS Dashboard that allows senior officers to zoom into any area of the country and see colour-coded risk levels. SFRS and Sweco also developed dedicated ArcGIS Dashboards for the flood and built environment risks, as well as a compelling ArcGIS Experience Builder web app that captures Scotland’s 3.8 million individual buildings in 3D, colour-coded according to risk level. With these intuitive online solutions, senior officers can view the risk profiles of communities, pinpoint high-risk buildings in context and run fly-throughs to identify where risks are greatest.

Deeper understanding of risk across diverse communities
Through the use of ArcGIS, SFRS now has a deeper understanding of risk across the different urban, suburban, rural and island communities of Scotland. It can see patterns and relationships between areas and clearly identify buildings with large numbers of residents, including multi-storey buildings, while using these insights to be better prepared in the event of an emergency. Griffith comments, “We cannot predict where the next fire will be, but we can use the digital portfolio of meaningful risk data that we now hold to focus on more vulnerable communities and become better prepared for the future.”

Precisely targeted fire prevention activities
SFRS is now using its ArcGIS-based risk model to carry out targeted interventions as part of its prevention work, to keep communities safe from the risk of fire and other hazards. For example, Operational Intelligence teams use the built environment web apps to identify high risk buildings and organise risk assessment visits. In the lead up to the United Nations’ COP26 Conference in Glasgow, SFRS used the risk model to assess the risk profiles of properties within a mile of key venues and put effective mitigation plans in place for any high-profiled event.

Well-informed, strategic resource deployment decisions
The ArcGIS-based risk model is currently being used by SFRS to help inform its Strategic Service Review. Senior officers can use the ArcGIS web apps and dashboards to investigate alternative operational asset configurations and align services and resources with the geographical risk levels identified by the risk model. For instance, the service is ensuring that its high-reach appliances are based in the higher-risk locations with the largest concentration of high-rise buildings, where they are most likely to be needed. “It is well-informed decisions like this that help to make communities safer,” Griffith says.

Increased public awareness of fire risks
SFRS plans to continue to develop its risk model in ArcGIS by, for example, adding data on anonymised population health and wildfire risk locations. SFRS will also consider making a dedicated ArcGIS web app publicly available, to enable property owners to check the risk rating for their own properties and encourage them to take precautions to reduce the risk. “There is huge potential to use ArcGIS to increase public awareness of fire risks,” comments Griffith. “This risk model project has so many possible offshoot benefits for other parts of the service, as well as for protection, prevention and preparedness measures.”

Crimestoppers provides a service for people to pass on what they know about crime whilst staying completely anonymous.  Each year, over 200,000 reports are shared with local police forces, supplying crucial information that aids investigations, arrests and prosecutions.

The responsibility for reaching vital communities who may need the Crimestoppers’ service lies with the charity’s 14 National and Regional Managers, who work across the United Kingdom.  They liaise with their respective Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and forces to understand strategic policing priorities and jointly develop local campaigns aimed at encouraging the public to share tip-offs anonymously.

However, the reporting mechanism used by the Managers was too time-consuming. Each report naturally includes a location element, yet the system lacked postcode or spatial data fields to provide the correct geographic visual context to a report. As a result, consolidating reports often took weeks and there became a pressing need for automated geographic filtering and enrichment to more effectively communicate local issues, trends and patterns.

“Our Regional Managers simply needed better tools to help them do their jobs,” said Crimestoppers’ Chief of Staff, Karen Ogborn. “We also sought the ability to more easily demonstrate to PCCs and forces the impact of Crimestoppers’ work on the communities they serve and to uncover previously undetectable patterns of crime.”

Esri has been collaborating with Crimestoppers since 2011, with ArcGIS Online enabling call handlers to geo-locate calls from the public about criminal activity.  In early 2024, Crimestoppers partnered with Kalago Digital to make updates to their ‘Self-Service’ portal, a tool being used by Crimestoppers Regional Managers to analyse and report on disseminated crime information.  During the redevelopment of the portal, Kalago recognised, in conjunction with Esri, that ArcGIS Dashboards could play a crucial role in sharing spatial information.

Despite having no prior GIS experience, the Kalago team quickly and easily configured ArcGIS Dashboards, tailoring the information to meet the specific requirements of the National and Regional Managers, with only light-touch contact from Esri UK.   Incoming reports are now automatically updated and integrated into the system, giving Managers access to virtually real-time data.  Having this information at their fingertips makes them more responsive, giving them time to analyse the data and identify trends, rather than merely respond to queries and generate data-heavy reports.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.  One Regional Manager shared, “I’ve already made use of it today! I had to send some information on the number of hate crime reports to a local council, and it’s already done. It’s so easy to use and I feel really confident that the data it provides is accurate.”

Accelerated responsiveness
Only one internal training session was needed to get the National and Regional Managers up-to-speed on how to use this intuitive, self-service reporting portal. Managers can now self-serve and view data through intuitive maps, bar-charts and different filters giving them the means to produce reports and insight more quickly than ever as well as respond to incoming enquiries.

Improved resource management
As Managers become more efficient with self-serve ArcGIS Dashboards, they can dedicate more time to developing hyper-local campaigns tailored to specific PCC requests. Additionally, Crimestoppers’ former gatekeeper for data requests can now use their time far more productively and do more with their role, such as contributing to the executive management team by providing new insights that drive strategic and operational decision-making.

Rapid configuration
The Kalago team was able to set up the new ArcGIS Dashboards within a matter of days despite having no GIS experience. The interface was simple to edit so the Regional Managers have all the information they need, at a glance, on a single screen. Data is automatically updated daily, providing users with near real-time information thereby optimising the accuracy of data and reporting.

Supporting better crime prevention
With the new geographically based dashboards, Regional Managers can instantly run specific location searches and filter results based on reported crimes, ranging from incidents like romance fraud to shoplifting. PCCs now have faster access to these insightful reports and can collaborate promptly with their Crimestoppers’ Regional Manager to develop and implement hyper-local crime prevention strategies and campaigns.

Sustainability lies at the very centre of the Scottish education system.  Ever since 2012, the Scottish Government has had an innovative ‘Learning for Sustainability’ curriculum, but it wanted to provide teachers with new digital tools that they could use to help them embed sustainability into their lessons. It approached Scotland’s nature agency, NatureScot, and asked it to provide a toolkit of apps and other digital solutions that could be used at around 2,500 primary, secondary and special schools in Scotland.

The project aimed to build on the concept of the National Education Nature Park initiative in England and help schools record and improve biodiversity in their school grounds. Yet it also aimed to promote sustainability, encourage learning outdoors in local greenspaces and help young people develop the digital skills that they will need in their future careers.

NatureScot co-designed the toolkit in tandem with teachers across Scotland during a pilot and identified features that teachers specifically wanted, such as the ability to print maps. Esri UK’s Professional Services team then built the toolkit, working closely with NatureScot and harnessing the capabilities of Esri’s ArcGIS system to deliver precisely the capabilities needed, in easy-to-use, intuitive tools.

Named Nature Discovery Map Scotland, the toolkit includes a Nature Mapper web app, built with ArcGIS Experience Builder, that allows teachers to zoom into their school, explore data on landcover and habitat type and annotate and print the map if required.

There are two mobile apps for pupils to use, the Discoverer App for early stage users, created with ArcGIS QuickCapture, and the Explorer App for older stage users, created with ArcGIS Survey123.  These mobile solutions enable pupils with different ability levels to capture data outside on all kinds of biodiversity and sustainability features including hedgerows, trees, long grass, solar panels, compost bins and ‘wee habitats’ like bird boxes and bug hotels.

Another web app for teachers, called Mark It, allows teachers to verify the data collected by pupils before it is published to the maps. There are then two dashboards, built with ArcGIS Dashboards, that allow classes to view changes in the biodiversity of their schools over time, as well as compare their school to other schools in different locations nationwide.

Teachers can access some elements of the toolkit without registering. To upload data, teachers log into a secure area of the website or ‘hub’, built with ArcGIS Hub Premium.  The hub also contains a collection of resources, created with the ArcGIS StoryMaps app builder, that clearly explain the tools available and show how schools can use them as part of a circular approach of looking, discovering, planning and acting.

Effective delivery of sustainability curriculum
The ArcGIS-based toolkit gets children learning outside, a key element of the ‘Learning for Sustainability’ curriculum in Scotland. As it focuses pupils’ attention on everything from insect habitats to bicycle racks, it effectively combines education on biodiversity and climate change action in one toolkit. “The Nature Discovery Map Scotland toolkit contextualises learning,” explains Sue Munro, Greenspaces Officer at NatureScot. “There is no more powerful way to get pupils to understand a concept like biodiversity loss than to get them to actually step outside and look at it.”

Improved biodiversity on school grounds
The availability of the new toolkit empowers primary and secondary schools, as well as special schools, to look at their school estates, really understand what biodiversity exists and how to take steps to improve it. In particular, the toolkit encourages teachers and pupils to consider ‘Could we improve this for nature?’ and focuses attention on where there is opportunity to make positive change. “The ArcGIS Nature Discovery Map Scotland toolkit will help us to engage and empower school children to make a difference,” Munro ascerts. “They can capture photographs to monitor change over time and see the impact that they are having on the quality of their natural habitats.”

Thriving nature networks across Scotland
The Nature Discovery Map Scotland toolkit helps pupils to understand the vital role that school grounds can play as stepping stones for nature. By exploring the web apps and dashboards, they can see the habitats that surround their schools. They can then understand how their schools form part of wildlife corridors and use the toolkit beyond their school grounds to map, for example, local tree planting projects. “Schools can play a part in helping to build thriving nature networks across Scotland and take pride in the positive impact they are having within their wider community,” comments Munro.

Improve digital literacy in young people
Pupils will gain experience of using industry-standard digital data capture tools, interactive web maps and dashboards. They will, therefore, become familiar with geographic information system (GIS) technologies at an early age and gain the confidence and skills to use GIS in their future careers. “With our ArcGIS-based toolkit, we are upskilling the next generation and giving them the digital skills to help address the biodiversity and climate challenges that they have inherited,” Munro says. “The Nature Discovery Map Scotland toolkit will help to connect young people to nature, encourage them to value nature and give them the skills to look after nature.”

Wild salmon populations have been in steady decline in the UK ever since 1952 and are now classified as endangered.  One of the organisations that is committed to reversing this trend is the Scottish Fisheries Coordination Centre (SFCC).  Part of Fisheries Management Scotland, it coordinates with a wide range of stakeholders, including rivers and fisheries trusts, district salmon fishery boards and the Scottish Government, to drive initiatives to protect salmon and other freshwater fish.

For many years, 27 organisations have been involved in producing fisheries management plans for the 44 fisheries districts in Scotland.  Although these plans were produced to a standard template, they were stand-alone, static, pdf reports comprising up to 50 pages.  Consequently, people working in the fisheries sector could neither gain a clear oversight of the range of initiatives needed to protect salmon populations across Scotland nor gauge the likely cost of implementing them.

SFCC already used Esri’s geographic information system (GIS) technology, ArcGIS, in many aspects of its work.  With funding from Crown Estate Scotland and the Scottish Government, it embarked on a project to use ArcGIS to make the 44 fisheries management plans more dynamic and engaging, as well as create Scotland’s first ever centralised and comprehensive record of all of the intervention projects planned nationwide to help protect salmon populations.

Through workshops with key stakeholders, SFCC defined twenty categories of intervention that could be used, such as removing barriers in rivers, increasing tree planting or patrolling river segments.  Then, using ArcGIS Pro, it collated information from all 44 fisheries areas and created a single nationwide dataset of all ‘priority actions’ that are in progress, planned or not possible due perhaps to access or legal restrictions.

To display this Priority Actions Data, SFCC created ArcGIS Dashboards that provide high-level overviews of the planned interventions, across the whole of Scotland.  Using these dashboards, people working in the fisheries sector can see, at a glance, how many actions are needed, exactly where they are planned, how long they are due to take, what the status is and, critically, what the estimated costs are and whether they are financed.

In parallel, SFCC liaised with its member organisations and gained consensus for the traditional pdf fisheries management plans to be reimagined as story maps.  It created a standard ArcGIS StoryMaps template and provided support to help members get started.  Now, all 44 fisheries management plans are available as dynamic story maps, and they all draw on the same, centralised, authoritative Priority Actions Data.  The story maps include information on everything from river catchment areas to fish population health statistics, and users can click on points within interactive maps to bring up boxes with more information.

First ever, nationwide view of planned interventions
Now, for the first time, SFCC, its members and stakeholders have a clear understanding of over 1,300 interventions planned nationwide to help improve conditions for wild salmon. “Previously, there was no way to gain an understanding of what was planned, at a national level, without trawling through 44 separate pdf reports,” says Sean Robertson, SFCC Manager. “Now, using ArcGIS Dashboards, we can see exactly where interventions are needed, across the whole of Scotland, what types of interventions these are and their likely cost.”

Improved ability to attract funding for new interventions
ArcGIS Dashboards clearly highlight £202 million in unfunded and partially funded projects ready for investment in the next five years, across Scotland. It is, therefore, now much easier for investors to find projects of the type they are interested in and in the locations where they want to invest. Private sector organisations can, for example, see where funding is needed for tree planting on riverbanks and invest to offset their carbon footprints. “We now know the precise level of investment required to improve conditions for salmon populations, at local and national levels, and can use this insight to help us attract finance from new investors,” Robertson says.

More adaptive and collaborative planning
The fisheries management plans created with the ArcGIS StoryMaps app builder are far more adaptive than pdf plans, so member organisations can update their management strategies easily, on demand, whenever an action has been completed or new ones arise. The story map format is also more effective at revealing opportunities for organisations to share resources, avoid duplication and work together on similar projects. “The ArcGIS story maps are stimulating greater collaboration and will, I believe, lead to better outcomes for Scotland’s salmon and river environments,” comments Robertson.

Clearer communication with stakeholders
The 44 fisheries management plans are now far more interactive and engaging, improving communication between rivers and fisheries trusts and their audiences. “Story maps really hold people’s attention and are much better than long text documents for showing people what interventions are needed and where,” Robertson explains. “Whether our member organisations are communicating with local residents, volunteers, landowners or government agencies, the ArcGIS story maps enable them to really demonstrate the value that their planned interventions can bring to the freshwater enviroment.”

HSE has a statutory obligation to provide advice to planning authorities across Great Britain for proposed new developments close to major hazard industrial facilities, pipelines, explosives factories and other facilities that represent a possible safety hazard. To fulfil this role, the organisation defines distance-based Consultation Zones around specific sites and along pipeline routes, which vary in size depending on the assessed level of risk.

For more than fifteen years, HSE had been using a geographic information system (GIS) viewer, known internally as the Consultation Zone Mapper, to visualise these nationwide Consultation Zones. Built using Esri GIS technology, this solution had been state-of-the-art when it was first introduced. However, resource and technology limitations prevented HSE from developing it further and, consequently, this critical system had become out-of-date.

Enterprise-wide productivity improvements 
The next-generation Consultation Zone Mapper is a more responsive, cloud-based solution that enables employees across HSE to work more productively. With the previous version, it used to take up to five minutes for data to load, due to the age of the on-premise hardware; now, however, the data is there instantly. In addition, the GIS team can now update data within a couple of hours, whereas it used to take a whole day.

80% time saving in planning team
In the Land Use Planning Team, planning queries that used to take up to thirty minutes can now be completed in around five. This 80% time saving means that the team can respond to enquiries from local authorities far more quickly, and HSE can perform its statutory role as a planning consultee significantly more efficiently. The Land Use Planning Team is also less dependent on the GIS team for advice, as it can run more queries itself within ArcGIS Online.

100% increase in application usage
Positive feedback on the new solution has led to the number of users increasing from around 50 to over 100. Several new groups of employees, including the risk assessment team and the explosives team, are now using the Consultation Zone Mapper to see their data spatially for the first time. HSE attributes this success to the ease-of-use of the new solution.

Value-adding new capabilities
Through this project, HSE has delivered a host of new features, which are adding value in many different ways. Users can, for example, edit features and annotate maps for reports for the first time, as well as access the solution from mobile devices, which wasn’t possible before. Pipeline inspectors can now use it to assess hazards in the field, removing the need to print paper maps, and senior managers can illustrate solutions in planning meetings to inform decision making.

Southern Housing is one of the largest housing associations in the UK, owning and managing over 78,000 homes across London, the South East, the Isle of Wight and the Midlands.

Formed in 2022 from the merger between Optivo and Southern Housing Group, it is a not-for-profit organisation with charitable status. The company’s funders support its long-term investment in communities, with sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations embedded in its culture and strategies.

Since the merger, significant progress has been made to analyse, amalgamate and harmonise asset data from each of the merging companies, supported by GIS. A significant challenge for the sector is the increasing demand from investors for sustainability information and the substantial amount of data required for ESG and KPI monitoring and reporting, which Southern Housing has made great progress towards.

The UK government has set a target for social housing providers to achieve a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C for rented ‘fuel poor’ properties by 2030. Therefore, up-to-date information, or ‘EPC snapshots’, is vital for the Sustainability Team to target improvement plans effectively and enhance energy efficiency in underperforming properties alongside other major investments.

Furthermore, the organisation is committed to ambitious standards of sustainability, having set out its long-term vision and science-based targets in its Environmental Sustainability Strategy and Biodiversity Pathway. This includes efforts to improve biodiversity values across its holdings, which requires monitoring and reporting.

“Not only do we need to better understand our assets and responsibilities, we have to regularly monitor and report on multiple regulatory KPIs, gauge our ESG performance and demonstrate how we are fulfilling our commitments in our Environmental Sustainability Strategy,” said Bethany Austin, Sustainability and Reporting Manager.

The Sustainability Team at Southern Housing has effectively utilised ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online to develop dashboards that geographically collate, visualise, and report data. This GIS-led approach is particularly valuable following the merger of the two companies' assets, providing a centralised base for data integration. Despite this centralisation, assets can still be examined individually, which is essential for specific queries, such as those from local authorities and other key stakeholders focusing on particular areas.

Detailed insights are readily accessible thanks to Ordnance Survey (OS) AddressBase®, including the energy performance profile of homes. OS’s addressing product matches 29 million Royal Mail postal addresses to unique property reference numbers (UPRN), bringing a geographical dimension to matched records. As a Strategic Partner to OS, Esri UK supports the use of OS data in the ArcGIS System including ready-to-use offline data and connectors for OS APIs and tools so customers can process the data themselves.

For Southern Housing, for instance, using ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online, users can identify geographic clusters of homes that are close to achieving Band C. They can also determine specific wall constructions, such as cavity walls, to target specific measures, such as cavity wall insulation, through retrofit programmes.

Flood risk management is another critical function. Properties can be classified as high, medium, or low risk based on the Environment Agency's flood risk maps. This enables proactive measures to mitigate flood risk to create resilient communities such as promoting the Environment Agency’s flood alerts to residents living in areas of flood risk areas.

In support of its sustainability objectives and biodiversity action plan, Southern Housing has mapped its greenspaces using the OS MasterMap Topography Layer which gives users access to the most detailed, current and comprehensive dataset of Great Britain. During the development of its Biodiversity Pathway, a natural asset audit was conducted to establish a baseline for natural asset improvement. Utilising the Living Atlas and the SHIFT  methodology, the team estimated the total biomass across all housing assets to be 14,487 tonnes. Over 26,000 homes with private gardens further support biodiversity.

ArcGIS proves to be an ideal tool for measuring Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), ensuring compliance with new regulations. By measuring biodiversity before and after the construction of new housing developments and comparing the two, Southern Housing will be able to demonstrate the required 10 percent BNG improvement.

These activities underpin Southern Housing’s key metric: ‘30 by 30 by 2030’. The organisation aims to protect and support 30 flora and fauna species (selected in different regions as indicators of thriving diversity) by delivering 30 habitat creation and enhancement projects annually until 2030. ArcGIS will continue to be instrumental in curating, managing, and presenting the data that supports these initiatives.

Optimised asset management
With a single repository for asset data, staff can better understand assets and responsibilities and quickly answer incoming queries. This is of greater importance given the increased size of the organisation following the merger of Southern Housing Group and Optivo, with over 78,000 homes.

‘Our pioneering work with complex datasets and the use of ArcGIS enables us to understand the performance of our property portfolio in detail. This enables us to make informed strategic decisions that will deliver improvements to our residents and wider benefits’. Dritan Uka, Director of Strategic Asset Management, Southern Housing.

Delivering on EPC requirements
The use of ArcGIS to measure and map the energy performance of its homes enables the identification of areas for improvement and supports decision-making at both local and senior strategic levels. The Sustainability and Capital Investment Teams can respond accordingly to undertake necessary improvements to move properties from Band D or below to Band C.

Demonstrating Biodiversity Net Gain
Using GIS, Southern Housing will be able to measure and record biodiversity before and after new housing developments are built, facilitating the required regulatory reporting and supporting other internal and external stakeholder updates. They will be able to demonstrate and map metrics showing how a development site is left in a measurably better state than before the development began by mapping new wildlife habitats, plants, and insects. They’re aiming to use GIS to apply the same monitoring methodology to all habitat enhancements going forward.

Monitoring and reporting sustainability metrics
ArcGIS will be used to support reporting around the organisation’s science-based targets detailed in its Environmental Sustainability Strategy and Biodiversity Pathway. The organisation's goal of delivering ‘30 by 30 by 2030’ involves communicating these biodiversity management successes to multiple stakeholders, including the communities and housing developments where new initiatives are being implemented.

One of the Mayor of London’s top priorities is to build thousands of genuinely affordable homes to buy and rent. To support this goal and help developers build more homes more quickly, the Greater London Authority (GLA) wanted to make information about planning opportunities and constraints more easily accessible. It realised that a lot of useful planning information was locked away in documents, spreadsheets and disparate systems, not just within the GLA but also within thirty three London boroughs and two additional planning authorities. It therefore set out to bring together thousands of separate datasets, covering the whole of London, and make them readily available to search, view and download.

In what was a highly collaborative project, GLA started by liaising with London’s 35 planning authorities to consolidate all available planning datasets and documents. It then used Esri’s ArcGIS Pro solution to standardise geometry, attributes and coordinates across the many different datasets assembled. “It was an enormous task,” recalls Paul Hodgson, Senior Manager, City Data, Greater London Authority. “Even the way that lines were drawn was different across different boroughs, but using ArcGIS Pro we were able to bring everything together in a common format.”

After amassing nearly 3,500 data layers, GLA used ArcGIS Enterprise to create a centralised data repository, with some of the data held on premise and the remainder held in ArcGIS Online, in a private cloud. GLA then created a series of ArcGIS web map services with ArcGIS Enterprise enabling it to serve up the datasets in a variety of ways and make them discoverable to different audiences. “A key part of the project is sharing the data with the wider world,” Hodgson says. “ArcGIS Enterprise gave us a route to doing this.”

One ArcGIS web map service powers a new web app, called the Planning DataMap, that makes it easy for developers to view information about planning constraints and opportunities on an interactive map. Users can search for information in the categories ‘Protection’, ‘Good Growth’ and ‘Context’, or look at local policy layers from each London planning authority under ‘Borough Layers’.

In addition to the Planning DataMap, there are around 100 internal and external web maps that stream data from ArcGIS Enterprise on everything from listed buildings and designated greenbelt zones to brownfield sites. External organisations can also go to the GLA website to stream the data that they are interested in directly from ArcGIS Enterprise into their own data systems, planning solutions or housing apps.

ArcGIS Enterprise is now an integral part of GLA’s digital planning strategy. It integrates with other third-party systems and is helping GLA to create a complete end-to-end digital process, from evaluating sites and managing planning permissions to monitoring the progress of strategic plans. According to Hodgson, “ArcGIS interacts very well with other systems, using recognised standards.”

Improved access to open data for everyone
Developers, landowners and local authorities can now see all available information about planning opportunities and constraints, in any London borough, all in one place, for the first time. In the first four months of 2024 alone, ArcGIS served up data over 8 million times, demonstrating just how vital a role ArcGIS is fulfilling in the planning process for the capital. Peter Kemp, Head of Change and Delivery, Planning, at GLA, says, “ArcGIS has really helped us unlock the planning data, which shapes the future of London.”

Faster delivery of new homes in London
The GLA anticipates that the improved availability of London planning data will help to accelerate the house building process, as it will contribute to time savings in the planning process. Established developers can identify opportunities and put together schemes more quickly. Equally, it will be easier now for new entrants to the market and proptech innovators to find the information they need to start their first development projects.

More successful planning applications for developers
With the wealth of data served up by ArcGIS Enterprise, developers have a clearer understanding of planning constraints that cross boroughs. They can, therefore, now put together well-informed planning applications that are less likely to be turned down, as constraints have been taken into account properly. For instance, it is now far easier to understand protected views, such as the vista of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and see where height restrictions on new buildings apply across a wide area.

Greater collaboration between boroughs
The use of ArcGIS helps to improve transparency and supports greater collaboration between London boroughs. In particular, planning teams within London boroughs can more easily take into account the plans of other neighbouring boroughs. They can avoid duplication (such as planning similar health facilities in close proximity) and identify development opportunities that cut across borough boundaries.

Improved decision making within the GLA
Within the GLA itself, it is now possible for teams across all departments to consider planning information when making decisions. For example, a team responsible for improving highstreets has recently used data from ArcGIS to understand how planned new homes might increase footfall in shopping areas. “The great thing about having ArcGIS web services is that you can easily draw planning data into other projects,” Hodgson says. “It makes other projects a lot more doable.”

Many conservation organisations are dependent on data collected by the general public to help them to monitor and protect wildlife. One such charity is Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (ARC), a nationwide charitable trust dedicated to the conservation of the UK’s native amphibians, reptiles and their habitats. Responsible for managing over eighty nature reserves, the organisation engages and collaborates with a comprehensive community of volunteer and professional citizen scientists, schools, landowners, data partners and other stakeholders who collect geospatial data in the field.

Approximately one third of UK native amphibians and reptiles are currently under threat of extinction. In order to understand and monitor these threatened species, ARC has developed the National Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Programme, comprising different surveys and projects designed to generate, analyse and understand data on these species. At any one time, ARC runs multiple surveys in the field, all which support species status assessments.

Collecting data can be incredibly time intensive; it takes extensive human effort and time in the field. Data quality must be consistent and needs to be easily shared among a wide variety of user groups and assimilated into succinct, easy to generate reports.  Careful attention to data protection and data security is also vital; external volunteers cannot have access to internally held data and only specific user groups can be given access to certain records.

The bar was set high. ARC needed a customisable community engagement software platform that would enhance its capacity to engage, train and support its varied cohort of surveyors in the field. Furthermore, its capabilities had to include streamlined reporting and the secure sharing of data across its broad church of stakeholders. To find out more visit https://monitoring.arc-trust.org/.

ARC leveraged Esri ArcGIS Hub Premium to solve these challenges and built the ‘ARC Survey Hub’ which is now transforming the way in which it engages and collaborates with its staff and stakeholders.  

ARC Survey Hub is a series of ArcGIS Hub based sites, each set up to allow different user groups the secure access they need to submit data, access resources and view information. ARC’s community of volunteers use community user accounts and logins to access different ArcGIS Hub sites.  Dependent on the projects they are involved in, volunteers can submit features relevant to those initiatives.

For example a volunteer participating in the National Amphibian Survey can record their survey sites, the ponds they are planning to survey and their wildlife sightings as a result of those surveys.   Within project areas they can view their submissions and, in some cases, enjoy access to restricted data not shared with the general public. 

Members of the public have access to ARC’s public content and can learn about its different survey programmes, as well as submit features such as wildlife sightings through a public web form.   Results can be seen on a public dashboard and public users can interact with the findings.

Landowners are provided with access to a separate area where they can submit their own features such as an area they have identified to survey. They map it and ARC makes it available to the relevant pool of volunteers as an option to survey.   Data surveyed and submitted can be downloaded separately by landowners, for use with their own land management and conservation purposes.

Field data collection for all surveyors has been transformed with the introduction of ArcGIS Survey123 and ArcGIS Field Maps.  Paper-based data collection is being replaced with these digital solutions which volunteers can use even when offline. The ARC team can quickly spin up customised surveys with easy-to-fill answer fields, allowing surveyors to embed audio and images and have access to guidance on lone working and health and safety policies. 

Findings are now reported and presented to stakeholders and volunteers in simple, easy-to-understand formats through Dashboards, StoryMaps and Experiences.

Optimised data security
ArcGIS Hub Premium capabilities enable ARC to set up separate working environments for different stakeholders, alleviating any data security concerns. Volunteers from the general public only have sight of specific, gated data while other stakeholders, such as landowners, have their own working areas through which they submit data, and have access to further reports.

Increase in digital surveys undertaken
The ease of use field apps including Survey123 has made surveying more straightforward, easier and quicker for volunteers. Thousands of surveys are now being undertaken in Survey123 giving ARC’s surveyor community a greater sense of ownership of their data. 90 percent of respondents to a recent survey, rated the overall quality of resources provided to them by the ARC Survey Hub as good, very good or excellent.

Better conservation
Species status is now more efficiently monitored and, where ARC sees perhaps biases in the data or gaps in recording, it can reassess its survey and sampling design. Overall this delivers insights that will support better conservation programmes.

Improved protection of high-risk species
Data collected contributes towards species status assessments which highlight the location of threatened species, and habitats that are changing. This enhanced detail of reporting is better informing policy making, wildlife legislation and land management, and supporting reintroduction programmes of those species in danger.

From native trees such as English oaks and Scots pine to non-native exotic trees including sweet gums, trees of all species play an important role for Cornwall, helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change and improving residents’ wellbeing. Cornwall Council manages thousands of mature trees on its land, while also proactively planting and nurturing hundreds of new trees every year, as part of its carbon-absorbing Forest for Cornwall programme, to enrich and expand tree canopy across the region.

Like other landowners in the UK, the council needed to respond to the rapidly spreading ash dieback disease and assess the condition of ash trees. At the same time, it needed a more effective way to find and assess potential locations for new trees and then manage the maintenance and watering of young saplings for at least the first three years after planting.

Cornwall Council had been using Esri’s ArcGIS technology for more than two decades and the in-house geographic information systems (GIS) team had the skills and software in-house to transform the council’s tree management processes.

The GIS team started by using ArcGIS Field Maps to build a mobile solution for inspecting ash trees while in leaf when signs of disease are most evident. Around 25 tree surveyors used this app in the field to locate trees requiring assessment and to record photos and information about canopy condition. All the data collected in the field was instantly uploaded to the council’s on-premise ArcGIS Enterprise system and used to update an in-house tree management application.

Next, the GIS team developed a broader tree management solution for use by the council’s Forestry Service and separate Forest for Cornwall project team. Spreadsheets of potential planting locations and the locations of young, recently planted trees were transferred to ArcGIS Online, creating a resident-friendly, real-time and editable map of planting opportunities across Cornwall. A series of mobile apps were then built with ArcGIS Field Maps allowing around 13 people within the Forestry Service and Forest for Cornwall teams, and their prime contractor Cormac, to assess planting locations in the field, capture data on tree planting and record tree watering visits.

The flexibility of the ArcGIS system enabled the GIS team to configure the tree management apps slightly differently for the Forestry Service and the Forest for Cornwall initiative, to reflect each team’s specific requirements and preferences and to minimise complexity. “Council officers can access the maps and data appropriate to their own role, which keeps the apps focused and simple to use,” explains Councillor Martin Worth, portfolio holder for customers at Cornwall Council. “Having been a managing consultant of emerging technology for a UK mobile network back in the early 2000s, it is great to see now how uses for GIS mobile systems have developed and that Cornwall Council is playing a leading role.”

Cost effective management of ash dieback disease
ArcGIS has played a pivotal role in helping Cornwall Council to manage more than 745 ash trees and carry out in-leaf inspections of trees near public spaces where falling dead branches could have posed a risk to public health. “Without ArcGIS, we would not have been able to undertake the work requirement for ash dieback inspections, something which is vital for our tree risk compliance,” says Councillor Martyn Alvey, portfolio holder for environment and climate change at Cornwall Council.

More efficient maintenance of young trees
Through the use of ArcGIS, Cornwall Council has improved the efficiency of its maintenance services for over 1,200 young trees, cared for by the Forestry Service and Forest for Cornwall teams. The ArcGIS apps reinforce an efficient workflow and enable tasks to be shared more evenly throughout teams, reducing the workload on individual officers. The council also has an auditable digital record of its tree planting and early life maintenance, which enables it to improve its reporting to grant providers.

Improved planning for canopy extension
Cornwall Council will use ArcGIS to inform the planting of up to 200 trees a year by the Forestry Service, plus an estimated 400 further trees under the Forest for Cornwall programme in 2024-26. It now has a better understanding of which trees have been planted, in which locations and, over time, will be able to see which species grow best in the Cornish climate. Councillor Alvey says: “We can ensure we are improving biodiversity and helping Cornwall reach its goal to become carbon neutral, by planting the right species in the right place. We can also ensure trees of the same species are well spaced out, so if another disease like ash dieback hits, its spread can be slowed.”

Flexibility to meet user requirements
As new demands come in from the Forestry Service and Forest for Cornwall teams, the council’s GIS team is able to respond quickly, adapting or extending the functionality in the ArcGIS apps. Councillor Worth says: “The requirements keep growing and changing. Because the ArcGIS solutions we created are not heavily coded and are essentially commercial off-the-shelf products, we can be very flexible and use agile development to deliver exactly what is needed.”