3 ms·

Also incredibly useful is UPRN and USRN for properties and streets. Almost* every property has a unique identifier which is portable across systems. *I believe

Also incredibly useful is UPRN and USRN for properties and streets. Almost* every property has a unique identifier which is portable across systems. *I believe the top of the funnel for the UPRN process is council tax registration which not all buildings need

michaelt 3y ago
Yep, the reason I hedged my statement, saying "almost definitively identify", is that, as you say, some buildings aren't listed. For example some village halls aren't listed in PAF - perhaps because they can't receive mail? And structures like electrical transformers aren't listed (even when they're built of brick and on their own separate plot of land). New build properties supposedly appear in the PAF before construction is completed - but that depends on both the builder, and the PAF user getting the latest updates.
- tialaramex 3y ago
  PAF isn't strictly a list of addresses in the sense anybody other than the Post Office (and maybe parcel delivery firms) would care about. PAF is a list of delivery points to which they can deliver mail. So for example the place I work isn't listed, you can't deliver mail to it even though it's a large building with multiple entrances and you'd obviously be able to direct people here specifically, but mail "for us" goes to some admin building several minutes walk away across campus.
M2Ys4U 3y ago
>I believe the top of the funnel for the UPRN process is council tax registration which not all buildings need UPRNs are issued for structures that aren't houses or even buildings. 10010457355 is Stonehenge, for example, and 10022990231 is the Angel of the North.
- g_p 3y ago
  Indeed - there are even UPRNs for bus stops, defibrillators, and post boxes. I have also seen lamp posts, EV chargers and fibre infrastructure street cabinets receive them. No need to be a house or building!

3 ms·

Also incredibly useful is UPRN and USRN for properties and streets. Almost* every property has a unique identifier which is portable across systems. *I believe

by simonjgreen 3y ago

michaelt 3y ago
Yep, the reason I hedged my statement, saying "almost definitively identify", is that, as you say, some buildings aren't listed. For example some village halls aren't listed in PAF - perhaps because they can't receive mail? And structures like electrical transformers aren't listed (even when they're built of brick and on their own separate plot of land). New build properties supposedly appear in the PAF before construction is completed - but that depends on both the builder, and the PAF user getting the latest updates.
- tialaramex 3y ago
  PAF isn't strictly a list of addresses in the sense anybody other than the Post Office (and maybe parcel delivery firms) would care about. PAF is a list of delivery points to which they can deliver mail. So for example the place I work isn't listed, you can't deliver mail to it even though it's a large building with multiple entrances and you'd obviously be able to direct people here specifically, but mail "for us" goes to some admin building several minutes walk away across campus.
M2Ys4U 3y ago
>I believe the top of the funnel for the UPRN process is council tax registration which not all buildings need UPRNs are issued for structures that aren't houses or even buildings. 10010457355 is Stonehenge, for example, and 10022990231 is the Angel of the North.
- g_p 3y ago
  Indeed - there are even UPRNs for bus stops, defibrillators, and post boxes. I have also seen lamp posts, EV chargers and fibre infrastructure street cabinets receive them. No need to be a house or building!