Sustrans’ goal is to improve the safety and accessibility of the 12,786-mile National Cycle Network and provide quality paths where everyone can enjoy walking, cycling and wheeling. The charity formulated an ambitious Network Development Plan, but some improvement initiatives were hampered by insufficient data on land ownership. Recognising this, Sustrans decided to use its existing ArcGIS system to give its employees access to additional land data, which they could then use to improve the implementation of network improvements.

Initially, Sustrans collected additional land ownership data by contacting around 150 local authorities individually. Then, at an Esri UK Conference, Sustrans met with LANDCLAN, an Esri UK partner that provides spatially-joined land and property data for use in ArcGIS. Through its government sponsors, Sustrans entered into a licence agreement for selected LANDCLAN datasets, including data on land ownership, public rights of way, habitats and transport.

At the same time, Sustrans began to make greater use of data from the Esri Living Atlas of the World. This global, online resource provides easy access to authoritative maps, apps and data layers that can be easily integrated into ArcGIS projects. Sustrans discovered valuable data in the Living Atlas on everything from environmental changes and flood risks to heritage sites that could support its decision-making.

Sustrans’ employees now consume the additional data from the Living Atlas and LANDCLAN using a variety of ArcGIS apps, maps and dashboards, including ArcGIS Pro on desktops and hundreds of project-specific web apps developed with ArcGIS Experience Builder. Network Development Teams, for example, can click on the ‘add data widget’ in ArcGIS Experience Builder to browse and select data from the Living Atlas and/or the curated LANDCLAN datasets, which are organised in eight themes.

The new data from the Living Atlas and LANDCLAN is proving especially useful for users of the charity’s ArcGIS-based Network Development Tool. Employees can zoom into the National Cycle Network, geolocate sections of the route that need improvement, understand constraints arising from land ownership or flood risks and draw in planned improvements. For example, they can see where land boundaries are and identify the owners of adjacent fields when considering if there might be support for widening a section of path.

When individual improvement projects are ready to proceed, ArcGIS is used in many different ways to support their implementation. In particular, Sustrans has created a Network Development Plan Dashboard in ArcGIS Online to enable senior managers and stakeholders to monitor the status of around 17,000 individual improvement projects that are planned, in progress or completed. Updated daily, the dashboard shows them key KPIs such as the number of barriers that have been removed to improve accessibility.

A shared understanding of land ownership
As Sustrans is now making more data available via its ArcGIS apps, tools and dashboards, everyone in the organisation has an improved, shared understanding of landownership within a 50 metre radius of the National Cycle Network. According to Ralph Hughes, GIS Manager at Sustrans, “ArcGIS has all the functionality Sustrans needs to bring together vast amounts of data, from many different sources, and make it available across the organisation in a variety of apps.”

Improved visibility of potential project constraints
Using ArcGIS apps, such as the Network Development Tool, employees can now clearly see which areas of land are in private, corporate or public ownership and identify locations where planned network improvement projects may meet resistance from land owners. “Using land ownership data from LANDCLAN in ArcGIS helps us to understand the risks and constraints of future projects—and that is invaluable,” says Simon Pratt, Head of Network Development at Sustrans.

Faster decisions to accelerate network improvements
With easy access to additional land data via their ArcGIS apps, Sustrans’ employees can make faster decisions and accelerate the delivery of the National Network Development Plan. “Having fast information about land ownership means that ideas about potential new improvements to paths can be discussed, evaluated and moved forwards quickly,” says Pratt. “The right improvement projects can be prioritised to deliver the greatest benefit for path users.”

Hours of effort removed by streaming data
While the amount of data that Sustrans uses has increased immeasurably, the amount of time spent by the in-house GIS team preparing and managing data has reduced considerably. “The best thing about streaming data from the Esri Living Atlas and LANDCLAN is that it is always up-to-date,” says Hughes. “Hours of effort sourcing, maintaining and updating data in-house are completely removed.”

More effective and collaborative project management
Sustrans’ decision to supplement its own in-house data with additional land data from third parties will undoubtedly help it to deliver its vision of ‘paths for everyone’. Senior managers have greater insight into the locations of planned projects, can collaborate with the right landowners early on and monitor projects in a live ArcGIS Dashboard. As Hughes says, “The additional data that we are now using within ArcGIS is helping us to drive change.”