Guidance

National Underground Asset Register (NUAR)

Information on the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR).

From:
Government Digital Service, Geospatial Commission and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Published
22 March 2022
Last updated
24 February 2025 — 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 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR).

NUAR is improving the efficiency and safety of the way we install, maintain, operate and repair our buried infrastructure by providing secure access to data from over 600 public and private sector asset owners. These will include over 600 gas, water, electric and telecommunications companies and local authorities.

Currently workers must contact multiple organisations and wait on average over six days just to get the information they need. With NUAR, they can get that information instantly, any time of the day, any day of the year. This means 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.

This will lead to economic growth of at least £400 million 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 will also contribute to building the infrastructure needed across the country, such as new roads, rail and houses.

NUAR will help those who plan and carry out the digging work do their jobs more effectively and safely. This not only improves public services but also people’s lives.

Minimum viable product

An initial private BETA version of NUAR, also called the minimum viable product (MVP), is live across England, Northern Ireland 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.

The MVP includes data from over 200 asset owners, including data from most of the major energy and water providers, such as Welsh Water, Cadent Gas and Northern Ireland Electricity, several major telecommunications companies, including Virgin Media O2, as well as smaller providers of these services, transport organisations and local authorities.

Find more about the NUAR MVP.

Current work

  • The NUAR platform will be fully operational by the end of 2025.

  • Proposed measures to update existing legislation were announced in the King’s Speech 2024, which would take 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 evidence captured. Please look out for future updates on this webpage, for the latest news on this exciting work as it progresses.

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

Contact us

If you have any questions, or if you want to speak to our onboarding team about signing up to NUAR, please contact our Service Desk on email at support@nuar.uk or call 02380 056139.

For media enquiries, please email press@dsit.gov.uk

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

  9. October 2024:Ordnance Survey appointed future operator of NUAR

  10. November 2024: National Underground Asset Register project update - November 2024

Updates to this page

Published 22 March 2022
Last updated 24 February 2025 show all updates

  1. Email address for press enquiries changed.

  2. NUAR project update added to the "Story so far"

  3. 29 November webinar details added.

  4. Contact details updated

  5. Text changes reflect new government and new video added replacing previous one on the objectives of NUAR.

  6. Details of NUAR onboarding in 60 webinar and NUAR update webinars are no longer taking place and removed from this page.

  7. Summer webinar dates added

  8. 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

  9. Discovery project information updated and April onboarding webinars added

  10. New March webinar dates added.

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

  12. webinar dates for February and May added

  13. New webinar dates added

  14. new webinar dates added for December and January

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

  16. NUAR update webinar added

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

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

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

  20. "A guide to NUAR" PDF removed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  28. NUAR consultation details added

  29. NUAR in a nutshell document added

  30. NUAR prototype platform video added

  31. First published.

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