DIGITAL UNDERGROUND DATA Local authorities encouraged to be part of the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR)

Marisa Hayes

Marissa is Senior Account Manager, NUAR, GeoPlace & Ordnance Survey, working on behalf of Government Digital Service. She works with local authority highway asset managers and GIS leads to gather intelligence for the register. Prior to this she spent 5 years with East Sussex Highways, maintaining the Street Gazetteer which underpins all activities on the highway, before joining GeoPlace in 2020.

NUAR Logo

Marisa writes on behalf of the Ordnance Survey to introduce the NUAR project and share the benefits of it for local authorities. Marissa encourages those local authorities who haven’t signed up yet to NUAR, to do so “to ensure full coverage within the service, to further improve the benefits to all users in time, cost and safety.” 

Introduction 

NUAR is a Government Digital service that provides instant access to a secure, centralised and standardised map of the underground pipes and cables in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Operated by Ordnance Survey on behalf of the UK Government, it is improving the efficiency and safety of the way we install, maintain, operate, and repair our buried infrastructure. In June 2025 the Data (Use and Access) Act achieved Royal Assent, which put NUAR on a statutory footing and updated the existing legislation which governs the sharing of underground asset information. While there were no immediate changes as a result of the Bill, it will allow NUAR to serve as a comprehensive statutory register of asset information and contains measures to allow it to be operated sustainably into the future. 

The NUAR service is currently accessible to telecommunication, energy, pipeline, water, transport, local authority and highways authority asset owners who operate underground infrastructure in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland. As well as the authorised contractors working directly on behalf of these asset owners to install, maintain, operate, and repair buried infrastructure. 

NUAR currently has over 350 asset owners’ data published, covering over 3.2million kms of pipes and cables, resulting in 80% of the known underground infrastructure being mapped. 

As of March 2026, 62% of all local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have shared data for their underground infrastructure. This extends to 74% if organisations signed up to share their data are included. For local authorities who haven’t signed up yet to NUAR, we encourage you to do so to ensure full coverage within the service, to further improve the benefits to all users in time, cost and safety. 

Rob West, Acting Assistant Engineer at Coventry City Council said “Before NUAR, we would have to log into multiple providers, each with a different user interface which was a very jarring and inefficient way of working compared to NUAR. We were also unknowingly chasing to find out who owned our own assets! If you like efficiency, and more information – sign up to NUAR.” 

A case for change 

There are around 4m kms of underground pipes and cables in the UK, and 60,000 accidental strikes take place on these each year - putting workers’ safety and lives at risk and costing the UK economy £2.4bn p.a. 

NUAR is envisaged to deliver over £400m a year of economic growth through increased efficiency, reduced asset strikes, and reduced disruptions for the public and businesses. 

Why NUAR? 

Worker Using NUAR on Site

NUAR can currently be used for the avoidance of utility strikes and undertaking statutory duties in respect to the design, construction, maintenance, operation or improvement of underground assets The benefits for authorities are considerable in time efficiencies through instant access to data, reducing the number of organisations to be contacted and speeding up the average six days to get information.

Further efficiencies come from the centralised secure platform sharing a standardised view of underground asset data, simplifying the previously complex process of aligning varied formats and scales. Along with providing access to more data, NUAR supports users to make informed decisions to carrying out works safely and efficiently. 

Constant growth 

NUAR is in a period of continual growth and includes data from all major energy and water providers, such as Thames Water, Cadent Gas and UK Power Networks, major telecommunications companies, including Openreach, City Fibre and Virgin Media O2, as well transport organisations and local authorities. 

Getting started with NUAR 

NUAR is open to all local authority users in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Participation is currently free and requires submission of your own asset data, which is transformed on your behalf using an extensive data model. This may include assets from your planning records such as tree preservation orders (TPOs), conservation areas, archaeological and historic sites; from your asset management records such as street lighting, traffic signals and counters and CCTV; or from relatively new installations such as district heating systems and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). If your council can provide geospatial records, the data will be valid for NUAR. 

The data local authorities are asked to share includes: 

• Critical assets: 

• Illuminated signs 

• Traffic lights/signals 

• Street lighting 

• EV charging points 

• Parking meters 

• CCTV 

• District Heating Systems 

• Buried cables. 

• Highly desirable (damage prevention): 

• Gullies/culverts 

• Conservation areas 

• Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) 

• Section 50s NRSWA (New Roads and Street Works Act) 

• Ducting 

• Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) 

• Drainage Lines/ Highway Drainage 

• Highways Structures/Special Engineering Difficulties. 

• Desirable: 

• Manholes  

• Access chambers 

• Wildlife corridors 

• Brownfield sites 

• Archaeological sites 

• Historical sites 

• Section 58s (NRSWA). 

Use of NUAR does not affect any existing legal obligations to make asset data available for street works purposes and it builds upon the existing requirements of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. 

The NUAR Administration Portal allows designated administrators within asset owner organisations to invite and manage their direct users and create supply chain relationships with the contractor organisations they are working with. 

Underground and overground- why? 

While buried infrastructure presents the biggest challenge for street works and excavations, repeatedly we are told that prior knowledge of trees, TPOs, CCTV, streetlighting and associated cabling are essential for the planning and efficient execution of works. 

Secure by design 

Coiled Cables and Drill

A security-minded approach is a top priority for NUAR. NUAR is a secure platform with comprehensive security controls in place to ensure that data is protected, while allowing appropriate role-based access to data required to work safely. Only authorised users can access information about assets, and strict controls are in place to protect sensitive assets data. 

Future NUAR 

Excavation Site

Measures contained in the Data Act require owners of buried assets to share their data in a prescribed manner with NUAR, to simplify and expedite the process by which asset data is shared. 

Secondary legislation is required to implement and enforce the measures outlined in the Act and collaboration with asset owners, local authorities, and other stakeholders will be crucial as the Government Digital Service (GDS) applies the new legal framework and ensures that NUAR meets the needs of all users. 

GDS recently shared that engagement with stakeholders has highlighted that secure, broadened access to NUAR will deliver substantial economic, safety, and operational advantages. GDS’s plans for the next two years include extending NUAR access to proposed new user groups, and for additional use cases. This will be done in a phased manner, prioritising the areas of greatest benefit to safe excavation. A public consultation on proposals is coming shortly, with secondary legislation required to enable expansion of access to new user groups. 

The proposed expansions may include allowing access to: 

• Additional user groups for safe digging: Broader access will be enabled to support safe digging for all. Consideration will be given to the level of detail appropriate for the purpose and the type of user. This will include organisations that don’t currently have access to the service, and members of the public carrying out works on their property 

• Asset owners for core business use: Using NUAR for core business functions will be permitted within asset owner organisations. This may include improving infrastructure planning, deployment, customer service, and operational efficiency. Consideration will be given to possible exceptions to avoid negative impacts on market competition 

• Public sector bodies: Organisations across the public sector will be able to use NUAR to support a wide range of public functions, including emergency works (for example, the Ministry of Defence removing unexploded ordnance), police site security planning, regulatory activities by Defra in the water sector, and improved local planning for housing, transport, and district heating. 

You can read more details about this on the GDS blog here. 

Visit the NUAR website for more information – www.nuar.uk where you can contact us to discuss NUAR – www.nuar.uk/contact-us