Institute of Place Management

 

It can be surprisingly difficult to obtain information relating to the economic and social situation of specific areas. Information that you would think would be readily available and easily accessible can often prove to be frustratingly elusive. This short guide details where best to look in order to obtain information pertaining to a defined locality.

 

www.multimap.com is useful for generating maps of any given location, by entering a postcode, a map is generated which can be altered to be more/less detailed.

 

 

www.ukwebstart.com is a useful site for obtaining postcodes for a given area, this is particularly useful if the researcher is unfamiliar with the area.

 

www.crimestatistics.org.uk is the most reliable source, it is useful for obtaining crime figures for various types of offence in a postcode specified locality.

 

www.upmystreet.com contains useful local crime statistics defined by postcode, results are displayed as incidents per 1000 of the population, the national average is also provided as a reference point.

 

 

www.caci.co.uk/acorn provides various types of information including employment figures specified by postcode. The site requires you to register (at no cost) before accessing information. Results are displayed using an index of the national average, therefore they are most useful for showing wider trends rather than for obtaining specific figures.

 

www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk contains regionally specific employment data and allows you to search more specifically by entering a postcode.

 

 

www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk contains regionally specific economic figures, again, more specific data can be accessed by entering a postcode.

 

Car parking information is often difficult to obtain, due to a lack in demand for such info, however local council websites may host documents such as local development plans which may contain such information.

www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk contains regionally specific education figures, again, more specific data can be accessed by entering a postcode.

 

 

www.upmystreet.com is a useful tool for providing general details about a specified locality (using a postcode).

 

www.statistics.gov.uk is the official government national statistics website; it contains various information relating to demography/social standings.

 

 

This type of information is best sought by searching the internet using such criteria as ‘X’ (name of town) tourism’. This will often produce results of local tourism websites that will contain cultural/historical details of the town in question, useful for providing a background in any given town research project.

 

www.aboutbritain.com is a good website for finding general information relating to specified regions/towns.

 

 

Again, a web search of the specific area will produce results detailing local industry, i.e. pottery in Stoke, salt in Middlewich etc.

 

www.yell.com is perhaps the best source for obtaining information about types of business in an area. However, it must be noted that such information is rarely, if ever, 100% accurate.             

                                                                                                                                                                                     

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