PlanningAlerts.com closed down

Today, I got the following email from the MySociety.Org-hosted PlanningAlerts.com, which has been closed down because it can’t afford to use the postcode system now that Royal Mail want payment of £4,000 p.a.  licence fees. I didn’t realise that the postcode system is private property… There are attempts to get a free licence for non-profit applications – see this post on the Ernest Marples’ blog for more info,

“As some of you may already have spotted in the news, Planning Alerts has been effected by legal action by the Royal Mail:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7700621.stm

We are left with the choice of paying the Royal Mail up to £4,000 a
year for access to the postcode database and either running a much less
accurate and useful service or shutting PlanningAlerts down altogether.
If are concerned about this, please consider doing the following:

– Write to your MP –

Tom Watson MP has tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament calling on
the Royal Mail to allow non-profit organisations to use the postcode
database for free. Please write to your MP asking them to sign this
Early Day Motion (number EDM 2000) and protest at the actions of The
Royal Mail.

You can write to your MP here: http://marples.writetothem.com/

– Sign the petition –

Nearly 1,200 people have so far signed a petition on the Prime
Minister’s website, please add your name:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/nfppostcodes/

– Blog / write to your local paper–

Please consider writing a blog post in support of PlanningAlerts or
writing to your local paper.

Yours,

The PlanningAlerts.com team”