Local authority information rests easily alongside travel and
tourism features at this dynamic West Country Web site
The drive for online government takes many different forms, and
in Exeter the local authority has decided to use tourism as a
catalyst for its Web site development, writes Mike
Simons.
The Web site offers a range of local tourism,
leisure, business and transport services, as well as news and
"what's on" pages and links to other Web sites in the South
West.
Potential holidaymakers can take a 3D tour of the city with 360¼
panoramic views of historic Exeter or zoom in and out of local
buildings. The tour also offers links to more views and Web sites,
or a page of information.
New additions to the site include the music of local bands,
including free MP3 tracks available for downloading. Leisure and
arts coverage is boosted by the support of local businesses and
services. The business pages include information on local firms and
facilities, highlight development grants and also offer investment
advice.
The local services page offers the usual suspects, including the
essential list of information numbers and links to council
departments and agencies. There are links to utilities, other sites
and local papers and a page of council job vacancies.
For Paul Gubb, programmer in the council's IT development
department, "this is less exciting" than the tourism offerings but,
he adds, it is useful nonetheless.
The site also includes a number of online forms including
complaints forms, "lookout" forms to report problems on Exeter's
streets and a benefits fraud reporting form.
Site administrator Will Austin hopes to develop another site
with BT and Exeter University, "to take some of the tourist content
and let us develop the exeter.gov site to hit government targets
for electronic government".
The next steps include making some council databases available
online, developing online benefit applications with other agencies,
as well as GIS mapping systems to allow Web visitors to view
fully-interactive maps of the city.
Exeter's site may not be leading the charge towards
e-government, but with 800 pages of information it is a solid base
on which to go forward. It certainly provides for the region's
varied population - local residents and the hordes of tourists who
see the city as the gateway to their West Country holiday.
Know of an innovative public sector project? If so, e-mail
Mike
Simons
Web site host
Web site construction
Exeter City Council IT department used: