Case Study: Cheltenham Borough Council achieves enhanced emergency planning and incident response with Ordnance Survey digital mapping

Cheltenham Borough Council - Customer Case Study

Cheltenham Borough Council ran an emergency‑planning exercise (Exercise Lansdown) to test its response to a chemical tanker crash that closed roads and stopped rail services. The council’s GIS Team used digital mapping from Ordnance Survey — including OS MasterMap Topography Layer, OS MasterMap Integrated Transport Network Layer and 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster — alongside third‑party and local data to provide situational awareness for responders.

Ordnance Survey mapping allowed responders to share TOID‑referenced context, plot a 300‑m cordon, and establish diversion routes that avoided unnecessary road closures, while highlighting affected care homes, schools and business parks. The result was clearer, faster senior decision‑making and more effective coordination with the Highways Agency, train operators and the public; Cheltenham Borough Council reported that digital maps made the exercise and subsequent debriefs easier and that they will use Ordnance Survey mapping again in future planning.

Cheltenham Borough Council

Jane Griffiths

Assistant Chief Executive