Guidance

National Underground Asset Register (NUAR)

Information on the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR).

From:
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Geospatial Commission
Published
22 March 2022
Last updated
3 May 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales

About NUAR

The Geospatial Commission, part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, is building a digital map of underground pipes and cables that will revolutionise the way we install, maintain, operate and repair our buried infrastructure - the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR).

Once operational, NUAR is envisaged to deliver £490 million per year of economic growth through increased efficiency, reduced asset strikes (when underground pipes and cables are accidentally damaged) and reduced disruptions for the public and businesses.

The emerging service is improving the efficiency and safety of underground works by providing secure access to privately and publicly owned location data about the pipes and cables beneath our feet. The digital map gives planners and excavators standardised access to the data they need, when they need it, to carry out their work effectively and safely. It also includes features to keep data secure and improve its quality over time.

An initial private BETA version of NUAR, also called the ‘minimum viable product’ (MVP), is live across England and Wales. The MVP includes all core functionality to meet the ‘safe dig’ use case, allowing users to both plan for future adoption and provide valuable feedback to enhance the service further. It includes data from all of the major energy and water providers, such as Welsh Water, Cadent Gas and UK Power Networks, several major telecommunications companies, including CityFibre and Virgin Media O2, as well as smaller providers of these services, transport organisations and local authorities. Find more about the NUAR ‘MVP’

Find out more:

In the video below, we provide an introduction to NUAR and its objectives:

NUAR explainer

In the video below, we provide a demonstration of the NUAR platform and its features:

NUAR platform

Current work

  • The NUAR service will continue to be iteratively enhanced in line with user feedback, the MVP coverage will be expanded to Northern Ireland by spring 2024, and the platform will be fully operational by the end of 2025
  • Measures are being sought in Parliament to update existing legislation, taking advantage of opportunities provided by data and technology advancements, to simplify and expedite the process by which asset data is shared
  • A discovery project is underway, exploring the potential benefits of widening access to NUAR and the constraints surrounding new propositions. Following an extensive, open and fruitful period of stakeholder engagement, we are now in the process of analysing all the ideas captured. As a result, while the Geospatial Commission will continue to work closely with stakeholders and will always welcome feedback on the NUAR programme as a whole, we will not be incorporating new ideas into NUAR Discovery at this stage. Please look out for future updates on this webpage, for the latest news on this exciting work as it progresses.

Getting involved

NUAR Onboarding in 60 Webinars

If you’re an underground asset owner in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that isn’t fully signed up to NUAR yet, why not join one of our monthly onboarding webinars, to find out more and ask questions about the process? Sign-up for one of the April sessions here:

Quarterly NUAR Update Webinars

We’re also kicking-off a series of quarterly webinars this year, designed to keep underground asset owners and their relevant suppliers up-to-date on all things NUAR.

The next sessions are in May, with two options covering the same agenda.which you can sign-up for using the links below:

Contact us

If you work for a utility, telecommunications company or transport / local authority in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, you can reach out to the team in the following ways: 

For media enquiries, please email us at geospatialcommission@dsit.gov.uk. For all other queries, please email our Service Desk at Nuar.Support@atkinsrealis.com

The story so far

  1. April 2019: NUAR pilot phase announced

  2. June 2020: Update report published following the completion of pilots

  3. September 2021: Build phase of NUAR announced

  4. November 2021: NUAR economic case published

  5. June 2022: NUAR consultation on potential legislative reform and the proposed future operating model closed

  6. October 2022: Project update report published marking the first anniversary of the build phase

  7. April 2023: NUAR MVP launched in North East England, Wales and London

  8. November 2023: Project update report published marking MVP going live across the whole of England and Wales, updates to existing legislation and launch of new discovery project

Published 22 March 2022
Last updated 3 May 2024 + show all updates

  1. Discovery project section updated following the the deadline for new suggestions by 29 April 2024. April onboarding webinars (10th & 24th) removed. May onboarding webinars added

  2. Discovery project information updated and April onboarding webinars added

  3. New March webinar dates added.

  4. On boarding in 60 webinars and information on the discovery project updated.

  5. webinar dates for February and May added

  6. New webinar dates added

  7. new webinar dates added for December and January

  8. updated to reflect that NUAR MVP is now accessible across all parts of England and Wales

  9. NUAR update webinar added

  10. NUAR platform demonstration video added. New Webinars added for October & November

  11. August webinars removed. New webinars added for September and October

  12. Blog posts removed and NUAR minimum viable product (MVP) section added

  13. "A guide to NUAR" PDF removed

  14. Blog link added - NUAR available to users in first UK locations

  15. 'About NUAR' and 'Getting Involved' sections updated.

  16. Updated version of "NUAR in a nutshell" document added

  17. Project update added to "The story so far" section

  18. New NUAR in a Nutshell document added which includes participation progress update

  19. New intro video and new NUAR platform video replacing previous videos

  20. NUAR in a nutshell document changed from 'Coming Soon' to the 'Future of NUAR'

  21. NUAR consultation details added

  22. NUAR in a nutshell document added

  23. NUAR prototype platform video added

  24. First published.

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