Displaying Office of National Statistics postcode centroids

The postcode data is published on the Office for National Statistics postcode page and is licenced under the Open Government Licence © Crown copyright and database right 2017.

Postcode centroids show the approximate centre of a polygon that the postcode applies to. Postcodes seem to never apply to more than one street. Some streets are broken into multiple postcodes. Sometimes this is by breaking the road up into chunks and sometimes one side of a road has a separate postcode from the opposite one. Sometimes it is a combination of these. Some buildings that receive a large amount of post have their own postcodes. In a few places multiple postcodes apply to a single place, again to facilitate post deliveries.

Last updated with the data available from March 2017

PLEASE do not add the centroids to the OSM map database. The centroids are not real objects so they do not belong in the OSM database.

To see postcodes on an openstreetmap map you can use oscompare with the postcode layer turned on.

• You must zoom in to level 16 or higher to see the postcode overlay.

If you want to search for a GB postcode and see it on a map try Postcode finder.

JOSM editor

To see the postcode overlay in the JOSM editor:

• Open the preferences for the imagery layer
• Click add TMS
• Enter the URL as http://www.raggedred.net/tiles/onspd/{zoom}/{x}/{y}.png
• Leave the maximum zoom field empty
• Enter a name for this imagery, such as onspd
• Click OK to save the settings
• Click OK to save the preferences

JOSM will now display the imagery under the name you chose in the imagery menu.

iD online editor

To see the postcode overlay in the iD (online) editor:

• Click on the background layer
• Select the custom layer
• Click the Edit custom background icon
• In the dialog box enter the tile URL template as http://www.raggedred.net/tiles/codepoint/{zoom}/{x}/{y}.png
• Click OK and the postcode overlay will appear

iD stores the URL so in a later session you only need to select custom again. It is not possible to have multiple overlays shown at once in iD.

Potlatch 2 editor

To see the postcode overlay in the Potlatch 2 editor:

• Click on the background menu and click edit
• Click add
• Enter the name such as onspd
• Enter the URL http://www.raggedred.net/tiles/onspd/$z/$x/$y.png
• Select the new background