Under proposals put forward by the Prime minister in November a consultation about the future of the Ordinance Survey is due to conclude later this month. The challenge in our increasingly electronic age is for the OS to continue to be self-funding in the face of overhwelming competition from Google , GPS, 3G phone and other mapping technologies.

There are three strategies being suggested:

1. Do nothing - continue funding OS through licensing of data although with stiff competition this looks increasingly difficult.

2. Change to a free licensing model - this would maximise the use of OS data and mapping commercially and privately but will require substantial funding from government.

3.  Introduce greater efficiency and drive down costs though a series of stages improvements.

Reading between the lines - 1. is not a viable option in the medium to long term otherwise this consultation would never have started in the first place. 2. while seemingly attractive puts the burden onto all the tax-paying public while businesses would benefit from free mapping information, hardly a fair scenario. However  the alternative of having businesses using free data from other sources which may cause territorial disputes that could take years to unravel, it seems most likely that goverment will be tempted to step in if only to ensure an strategic mapping for the UK remains in situ. 3. Clearly is code for job cuts in the OS and a merging of products into more streamlines services that are easier to price and administer - why not, since the rest of industry has to work lean and mean why shouldnt the OS too ?

To read the full document (yawn !) see here  http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/1411177.pdf

Whatever happens, it is clear that for the outdoor community that has traditionally relied on OS maps that the world is changing and with the myriad of different mapping technologies out there it is important that the quality of mapping is going to be under threat unless enough money is put into the scheme. OS has a world-wide reputation for providing first class information and Britain will be a poorer place without it so I hope you will join with me and give whater support we can to this institution that has guided many a weary traveller to the nearest place of refreshment after a long day on the hill.