Ordnance Survey says online use has soared

ORDNANCE Survey has reported an increase in people looking for new walking routes during lockdown, with unprecedented use of its online maps and apps.

The use of OS Maps, its digital mapping planning tool and app, which has more than three million users a year, has increased by 78 per cent since February, with use in April 2020 up 41 per cent since April 2019.

One feature on the app called OS Greenspace, which highlights the nearest parks and commons to users, saw a huge 1,728 per cent increase in use compared with February and a 1,161 per cent increase in April 2020 in comparison with the previous year.

Nick Giles, Ordnance Survey Leisure managing director, said: “During the intense period of lockdown, figures show that OS Maps has been crucial in helping people discover their nearest green spaces, and local walking and cycling routes.

“This demonstrates that exercise and being outside is key to the nation’s health and wellbeing, and OS Maps has enabled people to do this while respecting government wishes and protecting the NHS.” The Greenspace feature, which users can access online or via the app, is the most comprehensive open data set of Britain’s green spaces, making it a good tool to find those that users may have overlooked before.

Each green space is marked in a different colour to identify the type, ranging from public park or garden to allotments and cemeteries.

Small green dots denote pedestrian access entrances and red dots mark vehicle access. Those who register can create their own walking, running and cycling routes, which can be shared with others.

Since lockdown was introduced on March 23, nearly 300,000 new routes have been created by individuals in the app across Britain.

In total, OS Maps contains 3.4 million private and publicly shared routes, covering 30million miles.

The top five areas for routes created during lockdown are the Peak District, the Lake District, Clwydian Range and Dee Valley and Surrey Hills.