Owen Boswarva's blog

Update 2 July 2026

Following the original publication of my post below, another requester has asked the Council for the same information via the WhatDoTheyKnow site. The Council has disclosed a data file containing what appears to be the same information. You can download the data from the WDTK correspondence page.

The remainder of this post is as originally published.

This is the latest in a series of blog posts about the campaign for open address data in the UK. Previous posts are listed at the bottom.

In this post, I describe a new open address dataset released by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.

Background

As related in previous posts, I have recently been requesting Council Tax address datasets from a number of local authorities in England, and asking for permission to re-use the data under the terms of the Open Government Licence.

I have created a landing page on my Datadaptive site with download links and other information about the Council Tax address datasets released as open data so far:

www.datadaptive.com/addr/

Release from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council

The latest council to release its Council Tax address list is Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council in the North East region of England.

The Council disclosed most of the requested information immediately, with the exception of the Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs). At first the Council indicated it was withholding the UPRNs because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice commercial interests. The Council dropped that argument following an internal review, but has continued to withhold the UPRNs on the basis that the staff time required to match the UPRNs to the Council Tax list would exceed the cost limit in the FOI Act.

As confirmed in the internal review response, the Council has granted permission for re-use of the disclosed information "without restriction". Since the Council has granted permission on more permissive terms than those in the Open Government Licence (OGL), i.e. without an attribution requirement or other conditions, it follows that the disclosed information may also be redistributed for re-use under the slightly more restrictive (but open) terms of the OGL or another compatible licence.

You can download my correspondence with the Council: CT_address_list_Redcar_Cleveland_FOI-2627-0107_[NO_DATA_correspondence_only].zip (1.06 MB).

Thanks to Council staff for facilitating the disclosure and open licensing of this data.

Access to this dataset

I am not publishing Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's address dataset here, due to the non-specific but lingering risk of further unsubstantiated claims of infringement from Ordnance Survey and GeoPlace LLP. You can read more about that issue in my blog post from last month.

However, there is nothing to stop you asking the Council directly for a copy of the data file. For tips on submitting access to information and re-use requests see this other blog post. My requests to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council were submitted on 6 May 2026 and the Council's reference is FOI/2627/0107.

More about Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's address dataset

Redcar and Cleveland has disclosed its Council Tax address dataset to me in the form of an Excel workbook 'CTAX.xlsx' that contains 67,333 records. Each record includes the full address (split into five fields), postcode, local property reference, and Council Tax valuation band, for a domestic property in the Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council area.

The dataset appears to be well-maintained. Based on the chronology of the correspondence the data was produced on 6 May 2026.

As the Council has not disclosed the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) corresponding to each property on the Council Tax list, the records cannot be geocoded at property level using open data sources.

Previous posts related to the campaign for open address data in the UK

East Hertfordshire District Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (1 July 2026)

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (26 June 2026)

Middlesbrough Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (25 June 2026)

Newark and Sherwood District Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (23 June 2026)

Southend-on-Sea City Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (18 June 2026)

North East Lincolnshire Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (17 June 2026)

Knowsley Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (16 June 2026)

Conwy County Borough Council (Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy) has released its Council Tax address list as open data (15 June 2026)

Stratford-on-Avon District Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (12 June 2026)

Chichester District Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (11 June 2026)

Enfield Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (10 June 2026)