The Postcode is part of a coding system created by the Royal Mail. The Postcodes are an abbreviated form of address, and enable a set of Delivery Points normally letter boxes for addresses to be grouped.
This is why Royal Mail prefers the Postcode to be separate and on the last line of an address. The format and rules concerning Postcode layout, in particular which letters can or cannot be used, stem from the fact that certain characters or combinations of characters could be confused e.
A Postcode is a combination of letters and numbers which defines four different levels of a geographic unit.
Donate now. Popular on Time Out [image]. Discover the best of the city, first. We already have this email. Try another? Latest news. Almost 3, postal districts cover the UK. Postcode Districts are used to subdivide postal areas and help route mail to its sorting office. Districts fall into areas. On average there are 23 districts in an area.
The actual number varies between 3 and Each one varies in size and population quite considerably. The UK has about 11, postal sectors. Sectors are used in the inbound code to help pick the delivery round. There are between 1 and 10 sectors to make a district.
On average each district has 3 sectors. A unit postcode describes a street or part of street, a single address, a group of properties, a subsection of a property or an individual organisation or department within an organisation. There are more than 1.
This number changes regularly as around 2, postcodes are created and 2, are terminated each month. The allocation of postcodes depends on the amount of mail received. Large users of mail such as the DVLA have different postcodes for different departments. The unit postcodes are used to find about 30 million actual addresses or delivery points, the minimum number of delivery points for a postcode is one, the maximum is , and on average the postcode is allocated to 17 delivery points.
There are on average postcodes to each sector: the most being , the least is 1. That leaves 20 for each letter. Since their inception, postcodes have become more than just a tool to help address mail. As postcodes nest into sectors, districts and areas, the postcode has become a handy label to define geographical locations. Postcode boundaries provide a convenient way to tie people into manageable groups with similar lifestyles and outlooks to form the building blocks of geodemographic analysis.
See our blog on geodemographic analysis Although postcodes focus on addresses, their aggregated groupings and boundaries provide an ideal building block for geographic analysis. Most businesses have data that is attached to postcode information. This could be customer records, or sales receipts for a store where the customers are most likely to travel to. Having data attached to postcodes opens up analysis and comparisons using census or other demographic data.
Our own GIS systems can use postcodes as their geographical key. Read about our work with postcode mapping Postcodes are a far more accessible reference than coordinates or longitude and latitude making them ideal for setting departure and destination points in navigation tools.
However, the sheer number of postcodes means that when you move beyond individual journeys, for business or fleet logistics planning the calculations required quickly become unmanageable. See our blog on postcode sector-based journey planning In existence in some form for more than 1, years, the divisions are based on long-standing counties and parish boundaries, which have themselves changed and been sub-divided over the centuries.
This reference source ties postcodes to census and other demographic datasets. Read our blog exploring the history and use of administrative geography As you can see, postcodes have developed into far more than just a means of directing your post, they have become a fundamental building block for navigation, logistics and economic operation.
Postcode mapping for business is what we do, so forgive us if we seem a little too passionate about the subject, but I'm sure you'll agree, there really is a lot to the humble postcode. We've spent more than 25 years working with postcode geography and postcode mapping. If you'd like to see if we can help your business, please get in touch. Contact us online or call us on: Turning a list or spreadsheet of postcode data into a series of points on a map isn't as simple as using an Excel wizard to do it for you, but it isn't rocket science.
The outward code is the first half of a postcode before the space. Some are non-geographic, i. The inward code is the second half of a postcode before the space. The inward code assists in the delivery of post within a postal district. Check our list of postcode areas for reference.
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