Reusing planning data under the Open Government Licence
Licensed public data can go into a paid report, with attribution and no implied endorsement. What the licence excludes, and why base mapping and imagery need separate terms.
Public planning datasets are free to reuse, and that freedom comes with conditions most reports ignore. The Open Government Licence version 3.0 permits copying, publishing, adapting and commercial exploitation of licensed material, on terms that include an attribution statement, a prohibition on implying official endorsement, and the exclusion of anything the licensor does not own. Miss the attribution and you are outside the licence, which matters more when the output is a document you charge a client for.
The second and larger risk is assuming the licence covers everything on a government website. It does not. Mapping bases, some third party layers, personal data and certain logos and emblems all sit outside it, on their own terms.
What the licence permits and requires
The licence is deliberately broad on use. You may copy, publish, distribute, adapt and combine licensed information with other data, including for commercial purposes, without paying or applying for anything.
In return, three obligations apply. Acknowledge the source with the required attribution statement, including a link to the licence where possible. Do not use the material in a way that suggests the information provider endorses you or your use of it. And do not mislead others or misrepresent the information or its source.
There is also an exclusion list built into the licence: personal data, information that has not been published or disclosed, third party rights the licensor is not authorised to license, departmental or public sector logos and the Royal Arms, and certain identity documents and military insignia. Read that list once properly, because it is where planning work most often strays.
Writing an attribution line correctly
The licence sets out a standard form of words, and the sensible practice is to use it rather than improvise. The wording is along the lines of "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0", with the name of the provider and a link to the licence.
Where the publisher specifies its own attribution statement, use theirs. Several do, and a bespoke statement takes precedence over the generic one.
Put the attribution where the material appears, not only in a bibliography at the back:
- On each drawing that shows a licensed dataset, in the title block or as a note beside the legend
- In the table or figure caption where a figure is taken from a licensed source
- In the source table of a constraints plan, alongside the download date
- In the report's data sources section, listing each dataset and its provider
Attribution is not the same as a citation for accuracy. You need both: the licence acknowledgment because the licence requires it, and the source and date so a reader can check the data.
Data that sits outside the licence
| Material | Usual position |
|---|---|
| National environmental and designation datasets | Generally licensed under the Open Government Licence |
| Statutes, guidance and policy documents | Generally licensed under the Open Government Licence |
| Ordnance Survey base mapping | Separate licensing, not open for all products |
| Land registry title and boundary products | Separate commercial terms |
| Aerial and satellite imagery | Commercial terms set by the supplier |
| Personal data in planning registers | Excluded, and also subject to data protection law |
| Third party layers republished by a public body | Only as the publisher's own terms allow |
| Logos, emblems and the Royal Arms | Excluded |
The one that causes most trouble is imagery. A satellite view that appears freely in a browser is not licensed for reproduction in a report you issue, and neither is an aerial photograph lifted from a mapping site. Buy the imagery, or use a source whose terms permit the use.
Personal data deserves its own sentence. Comments on a planning application often contain names and addresses, and republishing them in a document is a data protection question quite separate from copyright. Summarise the substance of objections without reproducing personal details.
Mapping bases and their separate terms
Almost every constraints drawing sits on a base map, and the base is licensed separately from the overlay. Some open products exist and carry no charge, while the richer large scale products come through commercial or public sector arrangements with their own conditions on sublicensing, contractor use and how long a client may keep the output.
Three questions worth answering before a drawing goes out:
- Which base product is under the overlay, and on what licence
- Does that licence allow issue to your client, and to their contractors
- Does the drawing carry the attribution and copyright notices that licence requires
Where a practice holds a corporate licence, the terms usually cover work for clients but restrict onward sublicensing. A client who wants the underlying files rather than a plotted drawing often cannot be given them, and that is worth saying at the start of a job rather than at the end.
Reusing data in a commercial report
Commercial use is permitted, which surprises people. You can put licensed data into a paid report, an appraisal, a planning statement or a tool you charge for.
What you cannot do is present it in a way suggesting the provider endorses your conclusions. That matters in practice. A drawing that puts your interpretation in the same style as the licensed layers, with the publisher's name in the title block, reads as though the publisher said something it did not. Keep interpretation visually and textually distinct from source data, which is also good practice for its own sake, as set out in our note on reading habitat inventories and how they are classified.
Derived products are allowed and should be labelled as derived. If you have combined flood mapping with your own levels survey to produce a finished floor level recommendation for a Flood Risk Assessment, that output is yours, built on licensed inputs, and both facts should be visible.
Third party rights within a dataset
A public body can only license what it owns. Where a dataset incorporates material from elsewhere, the licence you are relying on may not extend to those parts.
This arises with historic mapping inside heritage resources, aerial imagery inside a council viewer, habitat records contributed by local record centres, and utility records supplied by undertakers. Utility and sewer records in particular come with their own conditions, as covered in our note on ordering sewer records and pre-development enquiries, and historic map extracts used in a Heritage Statement usually need their own permission or a paid extract.
When in doubt, ask the publisher. A short email asking whether a specific layer is covered by the licence gets an answer, and the answer goes in the project file.
Where to check the terms for a given dataset
Check at the point of download rather than from memory. Dataset pages carry licence information, and it is not always the same across a single site.
- Read the licence statement on the dataset page, not the site footer
- Note any publisher-specific attribution wording
- Record the licence alongside the download date in your source table
- Where a dataset is aggregated from several providers, check whether per-layer terms are stated
- Re-check when you refresh the data, because terms change between versions
As an illustrative example, a constraints plan might carry four licensed national datasets with the standard attribution, a commercial base map with its own copyright notice, an aerial image bought for the purpose, and a hedgerow line surveyed by the project ecologist. Four different licence positions on one sheet, and all four belong in the source table.
Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports a site is likely to need before you start assembling the data.
This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with the publisher of each dataset or a qualified professional before relying on it, and note that licence terms are revised from time to time. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Can licensed public data be used in a report I charge for?
Yes. The Open Government Licence permits commercial use, adaptation and combination with other data without payment or application. The conditions are that you acknowledge the source with the required attribution statement, do not imply the provider endorses you or your conclusions, and do not misrepresent the information or its source.
What should the attribution line say?
Use the standard wording, along the lines of "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0", naming the provider and linking to the licence. Where a publisher specifies its own attribution statement, use that instead. Put it where the material appears, such as a drawing title block, not only in a bibliography.
Is base mapping covered by the same licence?
No. Mapping products are licensed separately, and while some open products exist, the richer large scale products come with commercial or public sector terms that restrict sublicensing and onward supply. Check which base sits under your overlay, whether you may issue it to the client and their contractors, and what notices it requires.
Can I reproduce a satellite or aerial image in a planning report?
Not because it appears freely in a browser. Aerial and satellite imagery is licensed on the supplier's commercial terms, and reproducing it in an issued report usually needs a purchase or a source whose terms allow the use. This is one of the most common licensing errors in planning documents.
What about names and addresses in planning registers?
Personal data is excluded from the licence and is separately governed by data protection law. Summarise the substance of objections and consultee responses without reproducing names, addresses or other identifying details. That applies equally to material that was published on a public register, since publication does not remove the obligation.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.