National Underground Asset Register (NUAR)

About NUAR

The Geospatial Commission 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).

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.

The initial version of NUAR is now live across East Midlands,London, North East England, West Midlands and Wales. It includes data from all of the major energy and water companies in these areas, as well as numerous smaller and public sector organisations.

NUAR is currently a BETA service and will be iteratively enhanced in line with user feedback. Once complete, NUAR will cover England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Find out more:

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

NUAR explainer

NUAR minimum viable product (MVP)

As set out in our 2022-23 Annual Plan and in line with the Government Service Standard, the Geospatial Commission is committed to iterative delivery where users are placed at the centre of product and service design and are given access to core functionality early and often to help ensure the service best meets user needs and expectations. This commitment began with the release of the NUAR minimum viable product (MVP) which gives the first cohort of users access to the emerging platform as part of an exciting stage of development and service refinement.

The MVP includes data for East Midlands, London, North East England, West Midlands and Wales from energy, water and telecommunication companies, local authorities and other public sector bodies.

The initial version of the NUAR MVP covering North East England, Wales and London went live in April 2023 with coverage expanded to the West and East Midlands in August 2023.

Following this release, the platform will be enhanced, both in terms of its features and data, based on feedback. All core functionality to meet the ‘safe dig’ use case is currently available, however ancillary features, like the ability for end users to report “observations”, will come later. By spring 2024, the NUAR MVP will cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Further information, including how to access and use the MVP, and its key features, can be found on our NUAR page.

Getting involved

Do you work for a utility or telecommunications company or transport/local authority?

• If you are an underground asset owner (or working on behalf of one), that operates in East Midlands, London, North East England, West Midlands or Wales and is fully signed up to NUAR, you may now be able to access the service. Contact your organisation’s designated system admin for more details. If you do not know your designated system admin, please contact our Service Desk.
• If your organisation is not fully signed up to NUAR yet, contact our onboarding team by completing our asset owner onboarding form.
• If you are already using the NUAR service, or have fully signed up, but operate outside of our live areas (East Midlands, London, North East England, West Midlands or Wales), you can contact our Service Desk with any questions.

NUAR Service Desk

Email: Nuar.Support@atkinsglobal.com
The Service Desk is available from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays in England and Wales.

If you have questions about the wider work of the Geospatial Commission, please get in touch via geospatialcommission@cabinetoffice.gov.uk