On the other side of the Channel, the French government has managed to create the "BAN" (Base Adresse Nationale - National Address Database), a database of detailed postal addresses in the country along with precise GPS coordinates: https://adresse.data.gouv.fr/base-adresse-nationale
On top of the database they have provided an interface to view the data, interfaces for towns and cities to keep the data up-to-date, free APIs to search addresses and performing geocoding or reverse geocoding (https://adresse.data.gouv.fr/api-doc/adresse) and the data is openly licensed and available to download.
Feeding the BAN has been enforced by law, localities are required to put together and upload their "Base Adresse Locale" (Local Address Database)
The original data was obtained from multiple sources, including "La Poste", the French Royal Mail equivalent, and OpenStreetMap !
They also use a similar mechanism for the "get me out of here ASAP" panic button [0] that staff place in your hand and tell you to squeeze if required, all it does is detect a change in air pressure on the other end of the tubing.
On top of the database they have provided an interface to view the data, interfaces for towns and cities to keep the data up-to-date, free APIs to search addresses and performing geocoding or reverse geocoding (https://adresse.data.gouv.fr/api-doc/adresse) and the data is openly licensed and available to download.
Feeding the BAN has been enforced by law, localities are required to put together and upload their "Base Adresse Locale" (Local Address Database)
The original data was obtained from multiple sources, including "La Poste", the French Royal Mail equivalent, and OpenStreetMap !