Owen Boswarva's blog

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 Enfield 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 Enfield Council

The latest council to release its Council Tax address list is Enfield Council in London.

This dataset took a little while to unlock. I submitted my requests in December, but in its initial response the Council withheld all of the requested information on the basis that the disclosure was prevented by section 23(1) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (CRCA).

FOI aficionados may recall that this was the reason given by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) when it refused to release bulk Council Tax property data in the Stitt case. However, following an internal review, the Council accepted my argument that the Council was not in the same statutory position as the VOA and that the restriction in the CRCA did not prevent disclosure of the same or similar information held by local authorities.

The Council disclosed most of the requested information to me in February, though it continued to withhold the Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) corresponding to the properties on the Council Tax list.

Following further emails, the Council confirmed to me this week that it has withheld the UPRNs because it cannot disclose them without cross-checking individual records – the manual work required would exceed the cost limit in the FOI Act. The Council has also granted permission for re-use of the disclosed information under the terms of the Open Government Licence.

You can download my correspondence with the Council: CT_address_list_Enfield_FOI-101001952759_[NO_DATA_correspondence_only].zip (1.2 MB).

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

Why you can't have the dataset – or maybe you can?

I am not publishing Enfield 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 recent blog post.

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 Enfield Council were submitted on 15 December 2025 and the Council's reference is FOI 101001952759.

More about Enfield Council's address dataset

Enfield has disclosed its Council Tax address dataset to me in the form of an Excel workbook 'FOI 101001952759 data.xlsx' that contains 128,689 records. Each record includes the full address and postcode (combined in a single field), local property reference, and Council Tax valuation band, for a domestic property in the Enfield Council area.

The dataset appears to be well-maintained and the addresses are formatted consistently. Based on metadata the information seems to have been produced from Council systems on 10 February 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

Central Bedfordshire Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (5 June 2026)

Herefordshire Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (4 June 2026)

Test Valley Borough Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (3 June 2026)

Bassetlaw District Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (2 June 2026)

Warwick District Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (1 June 2026)

Horsham District Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (29 May 2026)

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (28 May 2026)

Kirklees Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (27 May 2026)

Luton Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data (26 May 2026)

Open addresses: my submission to the Seventh UK National Action Plan for Open Government call for evidence (24 May 2026)

Reply to Ordnance Survey lawyers about Council Tax address datasets published as open data (22 May 2026)