Local Administrative Units Level 2 Boundaries for England and Wales, December 2015

Office for National Statistics provides digital vector boundaries for local administrative units (LAU2) in England and Wales as of December 2015. The dataset includes four boundary versions: full resolution (extent of the realm and coastline-clipped), generalised (20m), and super generalised (200m). File sizes for the downloads range from 2 MB to 98 MB.

Use Cases

• Create thematic maps for local government analysis based on the provided administrative boundaries.
• Perform spatial joins with demographic data using the LAU2 boundary geometries.
• Develop simplified base maps for web applications using the 20m or 200m generalised boundaries.
• Analyze coastal administrative extents based on the Mean High Water and Mean Low Water mark distinctions.

Strengths

• Provides four distinct boundary resolutions, with file sizes specified from 2 MB to 98 MB.
• Contains boundaries for a specific snapshot in time (December 2015).
• Includes both full realm extent and coastline-clipped versions, clarifying geographic scope.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data is from December 2015; freshness should be verified for current applications.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale analysis.

Provenance

Source

Office for National Statistics

Collection Method

Likely digitized and maintained by national mapping and statistical agencies.

Time Range

December 2015

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:32:42.078737; the underlying data snapshot is from December 2015.

Geography

England and Wales