Bolton Council has won a national award for its street information database for the third year in a row.

The Gold Performance Award for Street Data was given to the team at the GeoPlace Exemplar Awards.

Staff were praised for consistently scoring top marks in nationwide tests on data excellence.

Executive cabinet member for highways, Cllr Stuart Haslam, said: “High quality street information is hugely important and makes a difference to our residents.

“This award is recognition of the hard work and skill of our officers - they collect and maintain a huge amount of data about the streets in our boroughs.

“Regular updates are sent to a national hub who manage street data for all English and Welsh local authorities.

“This data is then available to mapping companies who use it for things like dashboard sat navs. Accurate street information is also an important part of the country’s response to Covid-19.”

The database is needed for tasks such as introducing or deleting new streets, and ensuring the adopted status of each road is recorded correctly.

Streets are only eligible for publicly funded repair work if the authority has adopted them, and they can only be adopted if they meet certain requirements.

Unadopted roads need to be maintained by the residents or the owners of the properties, and their upkeep can be very costly.

Managing director of GeoPlace, Nick Chappallaz, added: “Bolton Council has set an example for data management that deserves recognition on a national stage. Managing addressing information data to this standard takes skill, and commitment.

“The Gold Award recognises excellence and is an appreciation of the effort going into an often over-looked process, but one that delivers local and national benefits – truly bringing location to life.”