[ISSUE] government boundary data resource is down

[Robinlovelace]

This file is down: https://opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/0c09b7cde8b44c4ab6e2a1e47a91e400_0.geojson

So frustrating that ESRI can remove endpoints at will grrrr heads-up @FedericoBotta any ideas?

[FedericoBotta]

Yes, just noticed that too - trying to see if we can retrieve the boundaries from anywhere else! I wonder if the file will come back online or it's been taken down forever...

[FedericoBotta]

The LSOA boundaries are also available here, but still trying to find a URL to download the file automatically:

https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::lsoa-dec-2011-boundaries-super-generalised-clipped-bsc-ew-v3/explore?location=52.707615%2C-2.489798%2C8.00

There's also an API, but I need to work out exactly how it works - it looks like it may only be able to return 2,000 LSOAs at a time, which is not ideal since there's over 30,000 of them. Will look more into this tomorrow.

[Robinlovelace]

Here's a reliable endpoint for LSOA boundaries, with various PCT variables: https://github.com/npct/pct-outputs-national/raw/master/school/lsoa/z_all.geojson

[Robinlovelace]

This is really good though, I suggest we download and re-upload: https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::lsoa-dec-2011-boundaries-super-generalised-clipped-bsc-ew-v3/explore?location=52.680058%2C-2.489798%2C8.00

[FedericoBotta]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the code, but it looks like you put the new LSOA link in the part of the code which should download LA boundaries?
Agree on using those files though, will update the Python code accordingly.

[Robinlovelace]

Woops, maybe I did 🤦

[Robinlovelace]

Heads-up @FedericoBotta progress on this, I found a replacement, but not a perfect one! Please keep me posted if you find the original file...

[FedericoBotta]

For the local authority, you should be able to use the files here:

https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::local-authority-districts-december-2011-full-clipped-boundaries-ew/explore?location=51.600385%2C-1.645495%2C7.93

Again, may need to download and re-upload (I'm working on seeing how the API works, will let you know any progress on it).

[FedericoBotta]

The Python version now gets the geo data directly via the API both for LA and LSOA with commit e59de1a696ce9e36d309dadda0883e5f0a244d36

[Robinlovelace]

Great work Federico and even better that the data is now available from gov.uk. Thanks for the heads-up, re-opening as a reminder to switch.