Please see my submission for Belfast here (currently awaiting approval)
Does the fact that all Companies in the municipal area will be registered with Companies House cover the question in terms of a business listings? Companies House will have information as to contact and address details and nature of the business (e.g. restaurant).
IMO that’s a bit of a stretch. Companies House records include registered addresses but that doesn’t necessarily have any relation to where a business trades (which could be at multiple locations and far afield), so CH doesn’t function meaningfully as a local business directory.
Some local businesses will be sole traders or partnerships, and not registered with Companies House. CH records also don’t necessarily describe the nature of a business in any detail.
Additional point: while Companies House records are effectively open data, they are not subject to the Open Government Licence. Here’s an email where Companies House explains the rationale for that:
Thanks Owen, that’s fair enough. I would remove this as data is not otherwise available but can’t now that it’s awaiting approval. If someone can do that (or just don’t approve) would appreciate