UK Postcodes anyone know of a service ?

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Duncan Strang - 28 Jan 2006 19:23 GMT

Hi

My latest web application provides a search facility.

You sign up as a member and get a free entry in a searchable database.

I would like to offer a postcode search so that if someone is looking for a
particular service they can enter a postcode and return results within a number
of miles of the input postcode(s). I have seen this sort of search on a number
of sites to date and I was wondering if anyone knows of a web service or other
online service that will accept a post code (and some other params of course)
and return a list of postcodes within a parameters distance.

Once I have the list I can search my own database for results.

The service must be available over the network, I'm not intetested in static
databases that I have to install on the server (well I might be if they were
FREE :-).

Has anyone implemented such a thing ?

Does anyone know of such a service ?

Has this got anything to do with the group ? well I suppose not other than I
write in Java.

Cheers
anyway

Duncan

"Process- How will the work and the team be organized?
The team needs to fit the culture in which it will operate,
but you should write software well rather than preserve the
irrationality of an enclosing culture" - Kent Beck

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Daniel Dyer - 28 Jan 2006 19:46 GMT

> I would like to offer a postcode search so that if someone is looking
> for a
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
> Does anyone know of such a service ?

I think you have to get this data from Royal Mail
(http://www.royalmail.co.uk). They have a variety of services that you
can view on their website (I think the one you need is called Postzon).
However, I don't think they have a networked service. You have to buy
CDs/DAT tapes with the data on. This data doesn't change all that quickly
but you can get a subscription for yearly or quarterly updates. I don't
think it is particularly expensive.

Dan.

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Daniel Dyer
http://www.dandyer.co.uk

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Thomas Hawtin - 28 Jan 2006 19:57 GMT

> I would like to offer a postcode search so that if someone is looking for a
> particular service they can enter a postcode and return results within a number
> of miles of the input postcode(s). I have seen this sort of search on a number
> of sites to date and I was wondering if anyone knows of a web service or other
> online service that will accept a post code (and some other params of course)
> and return a list of postcodes within a parameters distance.

That information is copyright, and you will have to pay for it. The Post
Office don't want people going around using their service, and if they
do, they certainly shouldn't be addressed properly. The organisation
knows where its strengths lie, and delivering letters ain't amongst them.

They have a Postcode/Address Finder page that is gracious enough to
permit twelve searches in any 24 hour period, if you go through the
registration procedure (I haven't bothered). All the links for further
information on the page appear to link straight back. Genius.

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/addressfinder?pageId=pol_login&catId=2070
0386&_requestid=53918&cs=1

The common commercial solution used to be QAS' QuickAddress Nearest. In
addition to locations of postcodes, it would also take into account
natural barriers. So it didn't suggest somewhere in Newport for someone
who lives in Clevedon, say.

Tom Hawtin

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Unemployed English Java programmer
http://jroller.com/page/tackline/

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Duncan Strang - 28 Jan 2006 21:51 GMT

>> I would like to offer a postcode search so that if someone is looking for a
>> particular service they can enter a postcode and return results within a number
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>do, they certainly shouldn't be addressed properly. The organisation
>knows where its strengths lie, and delivering letters ain't amongst them.

:-)

>They have a Postcode/Address Finder page that is gracious enough to
>permit twelve searches in any 24 hour period

Yea, I saw that, OK if I only get 12 hits a day on my search engine I guess
otherwise useless.

>The common commercial solution used to be QAS' QuickAddress Nearest.

Nice one, actually it appears that they have something called QuickAddress
nearest for the web
http://www.qas.com/uk/products/internet/web-nearest.asp
Guess I'll have a look at that.

Cheers
Duncan

"Process- How will the work and the team be organized?
The team needs to fit the culture in which it will operate,
but you should write software well rather than preserve the
irrationality of an enclosing culture" - Kent Beck

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Rhino - 29 Jan 2006 13:41 GMT

> Hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
> I
> write in Java.

There was a discussion of this very topic on one of the MySQL mailing lists
just the other day. I didn't follow it very closely but I seem to recall
that the people involved listed a few possibilities, although I don't think
any of the satisfactory ones were free. If you go to http://lists.mysql.com/
and enter the following in the search box, you should find the discussion:
Search term: "UK postcodes"
within: all lists
matching: all of the words
since: 30 days ago

Rhino

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Duncan Strang - 31 Jan 2006 07:56 GMT

>> The service must be available over the network, I'm not intetested in
>> static
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>There was a discussion of this very topic on one of the MySQL mailing lists
>just the other day.

>Rhino

Thanks for that, lot's of interesting points there.

It does seem that these days, in this country, EVERYTHING has to have a price.
You would have thought that Postcodes are (or should be) public property.

Ho Hum

Cheers
Duncan

"Process- How will the work and the team be organized?
The team needs to fit the culture in which it will operate,
but you should write software well rather than preserve the
irrationality of an enclosing culture" - Kent Beck

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sks - 30 Jan 2006 14:49 GMT

I bought a file with all uk postcodes mapped to co-ords which you can then
use to get straight line distances in your searches. It cost me £250 which
is far cheaper than you'll get by a per-search fee via a web service.

> My latest web application provides a search facility.
>
[quoted text clipped - 37 lines]
> but you should write software well rather than preserve the
> irrationality of an enclosing culture" - Kent Beck

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UK Postcodes anyone know of a service ?

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