Getting wet n’ wild with UKELA’s Wild Law

Landmark Information Group is an active supporter of a number of events and projects hosted by the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA). The organisation works to improve understanding and awareness of environmental law, and to make the law work for a better environment.  One particular initiative is the UKELA’s focus on ‘Wild Law’, which aims to protect the globe’s animals, plants, rivers and ecosystems.

The concept of Wild Law proposes that we rethink our legal and political systems to stop environmental destruction. As such, Wild Law is a new system of legal thinking and practice that has the potential to turn the tide of environmental damage and enable new means of addressing the significant challenges we face.

One of our specialists, Simon Boyle, who is a leading and well respected environmental lawyer with Landmark Information Group, is the official Convenor of the UKELA’s Wild Law Group. Frequent meetings and events are arranged for those with an interest in the Wild Law initiative to discuss current topics, as well as receive legal updates related to such environmental concerns.

This year, successful events have included a visit to Scotland’s beautiful Isle of Arran, which took place over the weekend of 23-25 May. Delegates enjoyed wild discussions and long walks amidst glorious surroundings, as well as a boat trip to Lamlash Bay (Scotland's first 'No Take Zone'). The weekend focused on wildlife, wild land and marine protection on and around the Isle of Arran. This included Wild Law updates including news on legal protection for wild land in Scotland.

More recently, a follow-up event took place in London on 23 October, which saw the group attend a seminar at Herbert Smith Freehills' office near Spitalfields Market.

If you would like to find out more regarding the UKELA and the Wild Law initiative, click here: http://www.ukela.org/rte.asp?id=5

Delegates at the Isle of Arran event

Delegates visiting the Lamlash No Take Zone on the Isle of Arran 

Colleys introduces Landmark Quest’s Q-Mobile II:

Delivering digital valuation reporting efficiencies to its team of surveyors

Landmark Quest, a leading provider of risk management, mobile solutions and bespoke valuation software for lenders and surveyors, has announced that Colleys  who is one of the largest valuation and surveying firms of its kind in the UK, is the first to adopt its brand new Q-Mobile II platform.  The new edition of the valuation application for tablet PCs has been developed ‘by surveyors, for surveyors’, and enables surveyors to digitally capture valuation site notes at each property, providing a number of advantages.

All of Colleys' valuation surveyors have upgraded to Panasonic FZG1 Toughpad rugged devices.  Via the touchscreen tablet PCs, surveyors use Q-Mobile II to capture the complete site notes during a valuation inspection. Built-in intelligent validation checks reduce the possibility of errors or incomplete reports, plus the application helps surveyors make better use of their time on site by providing online access to supporting materials or data, or incorporate photos using the in-built camera.

Peter Stimson, Managing Director – Landmark Quest, Landmark Information Group: “Q-Mobile II is the next-generation tablet PC technology for the mortgage valuation industry. Working with the team at Colleys has enabled us to launch a solution that is 100% focused on what its team of surveyors want from a system. It creates significant efficiencies for them when at each property, and being based on the Windows 8 OS, it is future-proofed so new features – such as the ability to complete Homebuyers reports or other instructions – will also be able to be completed digitally, on the go. Watch this space for updates.”

Q-Mobile II includes a wide range of new features and enhancements, including full compatibility with Windows 8, an improved user interface to improve the speed of site note completion, compatibility with touch-screen or digital pen usage, plus the ability to access integrated camera and calculator functionality.    The site note functionality has also seen a number of improvements, including quicker data inputting features, plus intelligent validation for enhanced risk management.   

http://www.colleys.co.uk/

Promap Masterclass - Article 12

This Masterclass deals with historical mapping. We currently have the largest database in existence of OS Historical mapping and it is accessible via Promap.

Where to obtain your Historical mapping in Promap

Historical maps in Promap can be ordered as either individual maps or as a variety of map packs.

• Individual Maps – These can be ordered using the Historic maps tab at the left hand side of the screen, the maps will be displayed in the date order in which they were published.
• Historic Map Pack (Including Historical Aerial Photography) – This comprises the 1:2500 and 1:10,000 maps available for your site and also Historical town plans, historical building plans, Russian military mapping and Historic Aerial Photography, they  can be ordered by using either the historic map tab on the left hand side of the screen or through the reports ordering process
• Historic Map Packs at 1:2,500 and 1:10,000 (excluding Historic Aerial Photography) – These options are available via the Export data section at the left hand side of the screen.

NOTE: Historic Aerial Photography can also be ordered from the Export data section under the category Aerial Photography as a separate dataset. 

Ensuring the best possible coverage for your individual historical maps

To ensure get the best possible coverage on your individual historic maps, use the coverage column and the preview option to ensure it covers the area of the map you are interested in.

For more detailed advice on Promap why not book one of our training courses (which are all now FREE) or visit our training website by clicking here to find other useful tips and training aids.

If there are any other topics you would like to see included in the Masterclass blogs or if you have any other questions please call us on 0844 844 9965 or email us at training@promap.co.uk

Paranormal Energy and InFEARstructure Report!

We'd like to wish everyone a Happy Halloween from our Legal Team! 

For this special occasion we have made some new changes to our Energy and InFEARstructure report.

 ​Please ensure that you read and digest the important information on the attached sample and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch! 

P.S We are making changes to our actual Energy & Infrastructure report and will be in touch soon.

Promap Masterclass - Article 11

This instalment of our Promap Masterclass articles looks at ordering reports from Promap. This process follows the common style of online purchasing:

• Select your product
• Add it to your shopping basket
• Confirm your delivery details
• Checkout at the end

Whilst this is a fairly simple process there are a couple of features which can assist with this.

The Promap Masterclass is run in conjunction with our free Promap Masterclass webinars, which demonstrate the features in action.  To register for the next free webinar click here.

Use the free to view layers to order your reports

When ordering your reports from Promap, define the area you want for your report using one of the free to view layers, such as VML Raster, to avoid an unnecessary viewing charge.

Editing the address for your report

To ensure the correct address for your site is shown on your report use the edit option on the left hand side of the reports section to alter it as required.

Tracking and re-downloading your reports

To locate your report and track its progress, click on the Order tracking option under Reports to access a number of different search options.

Once you have located your report, re-download it using the following steps:

• Click on the orange plus sign to the left of the order date to view the details of the report.
• Select the “Retrieve this file” option from the right hand side of the screen
• This will now add the report to the download manager section of Promap which can be located under the “Export data” tab on the left hand side of the screen.

Where to obtain sample data and reports

There are a variety of methods within Promap for obtaining information about our data or accessing samples reports.  Some of these are listed below:

• Click on the “Maps & Data” option on the Promap login screen to view details of all the datasets and reports contained in Promap.  You can also view samples in a variety of formats.
• To access samples of our reports follow the process for ordering site reports. Then on the “Product Selection”  screen select the option under the product name for “More info and samples”
• To obtain information about the datasets in Promap Export hover over the orange ‘I’ button to the right of each dataset to display a dialogue box 

For more detailed advice on Promap why not book one of our training courses (which are all now FREE) or visit our training website by clicking here to find other useful tips and training aids.

If there are any other topics you would like to see included in the Masterclass blogs or if you have any other questions please call us on 0844 844 9965 or email us at training@promap.co.uk

Promap Masterclass - Article 10

This week we deal with exporting data from Promap.

The Promap Masterclass is run in conjunction with our free Promap Masterclass webinars, which demonstrate the features in action.  To register for the next free webinar click here.

Using the free to view layers to export OS Detail Data

To avoid an unnecessary viewing charge when exporting OS Detail data from Promap:

• Define the area you want to export using one of the free to view layers i.e VML Raster
• When you are at the stage of selecting your datasets choose the OS Detail layer from the options.

Defining your export site using the shape tool

To avoid unnecessary time cropping your data and to keep costs down, you can more accurately define the area you are looking to export by using “Set shape frame” in “Step 1 options” under Export Data. This activates the shape tools which enable you to accurately define the site, this way you only export and pay for the data you want.

New datasets and dataset information 

• Any new datasets that have been added to Promap are now displayed under the “Current Mapping and New Data” category. Promap will automatically take you here once you have defined your site and clicked on the “Get export data” tab under the export options.
• Hover over the orange ‘I’ button next to the listed datasets to view dataset details, including delivery times and available formats.

Download Notification       

The delivery time of some datasets, such as our bespoke range, is slightly longer. To relieve you from having to log in to Promap to check the data availability, we’ve included the option “Email me when my files are ready to download”.  Select this option and confirm your email address to receive an email notification.

If you found this Masterclass useful, keep an eye out for the next one. For more detailed advice on Promap why not book one of our training courses (which are all now FREE) or visit our training website by clicking here to find other useful tips and training aids.

If there are any other topics you would like to see included in the Masterclass blogs or if you have any other questions please call us on 0844 844 9965 or email us at training@promap.co.uk

Envirocheck Masterclass - Article 3

This week we look at advanced drawing options to help you accurately define your site.

The Envirocheck Masterclass is run in conjunction with our free Masterclass webinars, which demonstrate the features in action.  To register for the next free webinar click here.

Envirocheck advanced drawing tools

When using Envirocheck to outline your site there are some keyboard shortcuts which can help speed up the process:

• “add point/remove point” – If you realise you have made a mistake after outlining your site rather than delete the shape and start again, simply use either the “add point” or “remove point” options to amend your shape.
• Space Bar – Instead of clicking on each dot around the curve to outline your site when using Snap to Point:
• Click on the first white dot
• Then hold down the space bar and click on the last white dot
• (Note: The orange and white dots are sourced from different databases. So if you have an orange dot along the curve you will have to click to that before the next white dot to use this shortcut)  
• L Key – Press L whilst using the shape tool to fix the length of the line.
• A Key – Press A whilst using the shape tool to fix the angles for your shape. 

For more detailed advice on Envirocheck  or if there are any other topics you would like to see included in the Masterclass emails or if you have any other questions please call us on 0844 844 9965 or email me at nick.mills@landmark.co.uk.