What is the map page in my report, and why is it sometimes missing?

What the page shows

Near the front of every report, after the cover and the Part L statement, sits the Photo Locations page: a map with a pin for the location of each photo included in the report, captioned "All locations are shown in the below map. Many of these may be overlapping." Since a plot's photos are taken within metres of each other, the pins usually stack into what looks like one or two markers — that is expected, and the caption says so.

The page also carries an honest accuracy statement for your assessor: phone GPS is typically accurate within 3 to 10 metres in the open, can drift to 30 metres or more indoors, and is affected by building materials like concrete and steel. Assessors read the map as "this evidence was captured at the plot", not as a millimetre survey.

When the page appears — and when it is skipped

The map page is included when at least one photo in the report has location data (and that photo's file was present at generation). It is deliberately skipped rather than blocking the report in these cases:

• No geotagged photos — only in a report made before version 2.0, when a photo could be added without a location. Since 2.0 a send stops for any photo without one, so every new report has at least one pin.
• The map image could not be fetched during generation. Building the map needs a brief online request while the PDF generates; if that fails (weak signal at the moment of generation, a service blip), the report generates without the map page rather than failing the whole send. This is the usual answer to "the map was there last time but not this time" — re-send when your connection is solid and the page returns.

Nothing about the underlying evidence is lost when the map is skipped: every photo still prints with its own latitude, longitude and date-taken line beneath it, which is the per-photo evidence assessors actually verify against.

Pins on very large plots

The map groups pins that would land on the same spot of the image, and on plots with a very large number of photos it thins the markers to keep the map legible and generable — you may see fewer pins than photos. The per-photo coordinate lines in the body of the report remain exact and complete regardless; only the overview illustration simplifies.

If a pin looks wrong

A pin metres from the building is GPS accuracy, not an app fault — see the accuracy note above. A pin in genuinely the wrong place (another street) means that photo's location was captured badly at source; open the photo in the plot, check its coordinates, and if needed retake or re-import the shot with a good fix, then re-send.