GeoPlace works together with local authority representatives to manage and update the guidance on this website. The DEC-Addresses and DEC-Streets are managed with the Data Entry Conventions Technical Working Groups. 

The working groups bring together stakeholders from within the Data Cooperation Agreement (DCA) Participating Authority community, and consider proposals for changes from the custodian community, GeoPlace, the Street Naming and Numbering Practice Working Group (SNN-PWG) and other stakeholders. Policy changes are subject to consultation within the DCA community and are ratified by Regional Chairs Groups ahead of being published.

There are two ways to navigate around these manuals, once you have clicked on your chosen document.

1. There is a side navigation menu. Click the arrows to reveal subpages. Any time there is an arrow, that indicates that there are sub-pages within that section.
2. Some of the pages are listing pages, which show the subpages as clickable boxes. The sub-pages found here are exactly the same as the sub-pages found in the side navigation, it's simply a different way to view it, and may contain additional abstract text to describe the content of the page. For example: https://guidance.geoplace.co.uk/dec-addresses/about-this-reference-manual

Next to each paragraph title or number, there is a 'chain' icon. Click this icon to save an anchored link to the paragraph. Anyone who then clicks on this link will be taken directly to the paragraph which will be highlighted in yellow.

Yes, we will gradually be transferring many of our documents from PDF over to this platform.

If you need to view a PDF version of a document, please email your request over to [email protected]. Please be aware that, whilst we will keep the PDF updated, the content on this website will always be up to date without the need for you to access updated copies of the PDF.

Comments are available to working groups and others who are involved in content consultations. In order to comment on a page, you will need to log in and view the 'draft' copy of a page. You can comment in two ways - either highlight a piece of text and fill in the comment box that pops up, or if comments are available at the bottom of the page, you can leave general comments in the comment box. Make sure to give any references if you are referring to a particular section on the page.

The comparison screen is used to compare a live version of a page with an edited version which is being consulted on. In order to view a draft comparison, you will need to log in. You will only see a comparison option if a) there is a draft copy available and b) your role has permissions to see the page, because for example you may belong to a working group. If you believe that you should be able to see a draft and cannot, please contact the helpdesk on [email protected].