The government’s Geospatial Commission has appointed Ordnance Survey (OS) as the future operator of a national register of the UK’s underground assets.
The National Underground Asset Register (NUAR), which will be incorporated into the national mapping service’s public task, is set to move from public beta in Spring 2025. After that, it will allow eligible organisations to roll the register out across their workforces.
Nick Bolton, chief executive of OS, said: “We are excited to apply our expertise in mapping Great Britain above ground, to the infrastructure below it. This innovative digital map shows how collaboration, between private sector and government, can bring huge economic benefit to the nation. Being trusted to operate a critical national asset, such as NUAR, is recognition of our enduring capabilities and we are delighted to be responsible for running this service.”
NUAR is intended to improve the efficiency and safety of the way buried infrastructure is installed, maintained, operated and repaired by providing secure access to data about the water, gas, electricity, and telecommunications pipes and cables beneath our feet.
Currently, workers must contact multiple organisations and wait on average over six days just to get the information they need. However, with the asset register, it is claimed they can get that information instantly, any time of the day, any day of the year.
As a result, planners and excavators get access to the data they need, when they need it, to carry out their work effectively and safely. NUAR also includes features to keep data secure and improve its quality over time.
It’s claimed this will lead to economic growth of at least £400m per annum through increased efficiency of data sharing and excavations, fewer accidental strikes on underground pipes and cables, and reduced disruptions for the public and businesses.
It is also expected to contribute to the building of the infrastructure needed across the country, such as new roads, rail, and houses.
Baroness Jones, of Whitchurch, parliamentary under-secretary of state, at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, said: “We are committed to unlocking the power of data to reduce disruptions to the public and help deliver economic growth across the UK. From spring, NUAR will minimise the chance of accidental damage to the pipes and cables beneath our feet, protecting the supply of gas, water and electricity to our homes and businesses.
“By harnessing the Ordnance Survey’s centuries of expertise in managing critical national geographic data, we will ensure this service can deliver for the public and industry from Newcastle to Newport and Brighton to Belfast.”
The Geospatial Commission will retain long-term policy and performance oversight of the service. It has been agreed that NUAR is incorporated into the national mapping service’s public task.
Ordnance Survey has also agreed to operate NUAR on a cost recovery basis. In the upcoming months, the services will begin transitioning from AtkinsRéalis, which collaborated with the Geospatial Commission to develop the NUAR minimum viable product, to OS.
Guy Ledger, NUAR project director at AtkinsRéalis, said: “We are extremely proud of the work we have delivered in collaboration with the Geospatial Commission, and over the coming months we look forward to supporting the transition to Ordnance Survey, enabling us to continue to build, refine and improve the functionality of the platform.
“Having successfully built a viable working platform, this is a really exciting moment as NUAR transitions to a public beta service giving planners and excavators standardised, secure, instant access to the data they need to carry out work effectively and safely.”
Public beta
Plans are in place for NUAR to evolve from its current status as a minimum viable product, where use is constrained to testing and feedback, into a public beta service by spring. From that point NUAR will be able to be used in real-life situations by any eligible asset owners, their contractors and accredited surveyors to help ensure safe digging and excavation.
Heidi Mottram, chief executive of Northumbrian Water Group, said: “Ever since we collaborated with Ordnance Survey and others to design and produce the forerunner of NUAR at Northumbrian Water Group’s Innovation Festival in 2018, we have always felt this system, which benefits utilities and customers alike, should be hosted and managed not-for-profit in the public sector. Our planning and operation teams have fully embraced NUAR and this move to our national mapping service is welcomed.”
Ashley Behan, street works and permitting manager, Lincolnshire County Council, said: “As one of the first highway authority users of the NUAR platform, we are pleased to see public authority management of NUAR come to fruition, with its transfer to Ordnance Survey.
“As the national mapping service for Great Britain and one of the developers of NUAR, Ordnance Survey has a unique insight into mapping systems and how the platform works, and we are looking forward to seeing how it develops under their stewardship.
“The centralisation and consistency of asset information NUAR provides is invaluable and will be key to the sector moving forward, safeguarding the country’s vital underground networks in a more structured way.”
Tom Duncan, head of design and records, GTC said: “As an active user and supporter of the NUAR platform, I am pleased to see it transition to Ordnance Survey as its permanent home. This move should enhance the management of data relating to underground assets and improve collaboration across sectors, ultimately contributing to safer and more efficient infrastructure planning.”
Dr Lawrence J Smith, technical information manager at Thames Water, said: “We are delighted to hear that Ordnance Survey has been selected as the public authority to lead the next phase of NUAR’s evolution. Having collaborated closely with Ordnance Survey for several decades, we have confidence in their capabilities and in their ability to undertake this role. The NUAR application is becoming an increasingly vital asset in ensuring the safety of both our workforce and customers. At Thames Water, we fully support this announcement.”
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