Hartley Wintney, June 18th 2013 - Getmapping has released the most up to date aerial imagery of London captured during April 2013, before trees had fully developed their summer foliage. The imagery covers all of central London and stretches out to cover the whole of the area within the M25. The imagery was captured at 10 cm resolution enabling identification of a multitude of street furniture features on the ground. This makes it ideal for use by local authority planners, blue light services, architects, engineers, asset managers and map makers.

London is one of the most surveyed cities in the World, a reflection of its importance as the capital city and the constant change that it undergoes. The Olympic Park for example is again undergoing major transition, moving on to the next stage of its evolution. All the imagery is captured in ‘stereo.’ This enables sophisticated post-capture processing to determine accurate building heights and provide the basis for accurate 3D modelling projects.

London imagery is in daily use by the Emergency Services and Local Authorities where it is used to reveal the true nature of the built and natural environment in conjunction with traditional maps. Aerial imagery is a vital component of command and control for incident mobilisation, crime investigation and analysis. Local authorities extensively use aerial photography to collect information to inform the planning process. Much of this work used to require specific site surveys which can now be carried out without leaving the office. Armed with up to date imagery it is possible to check anything from a Tree Preservation Order to an illegally built extension.

“Capturing Imagery of London is fraught with problems; sometimes it is down to the weather but mostly it is down to air traffic control with the skies overhead being amongst the busiest in the World,” said Martin Tocher, Operations Director at Getmapping. “Because London changes so rapidly there is always a high demand for up to date imagery and this latest Getmapping survey is not only that but also ‘leaf off’ making it possible to see much more surface information around trees.”