Underground asset map extended nationwide

The National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) has been extended to cover all of England and Wales.

Developed at Northumbrian Water’s innovation festival in 2018, the map of pipes and cables was forecast to generate £5 billion of economic growth after being conceived to minimise the risks of hitting buried assets when carrying out street works.

As well as improve worker safety, the digital register is intended to save time and money.

NUAR holds information from all major water and energy providers, as well as telecommunication companies, transport providers and local authorities.

The Geospatial Commission, which became involved in 2020, is exploring extra uses for the digital map. This may involve supporting the rollout of electric vehicle charge points, flood risk planning, emergency response or conveyancing.

“The National Underground Asset Register is on track to transform how the UK manages the pipes and cables beneath the ground. Thanks to government working closely with industry, workers across the whole of England and Wales now have data, at their fingertips, about the infrastructure under our feet,” said Viscount Camrose, parliamentary under secretary at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

“The register is a prime example of the Geospatial Commission and wider government driving innovation that will deliver improved public services, create new better-paid jobs and grow the economy, and I’m delighted that legislative updates are being progressed to support this.”

Legislation is being updated to make it simpler to share data on assets to give workers access to up-to-date information about the location of buried assets in the area they are working.

Previously that data had to be requested from asset owners before digging could begin safely, which could take six days.