Government predicts digital map will cut roadworks disruption

The government has pledged that the UK public is “set to benefit from reduced disruptions to essential public services” following its appointment of Ordnance Survey (OS) as the future operator of the digital map of underground utility assets, the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR).

The appointing body, the government’s Geospatial Commission, said NUAR would end the need for contractors, who were planning to excavate roads and make repairs to vital networks, to contact multiple organisations and wait on average over six days just to get the information they require. The commission said NUAR was proving that information “instantly, any time of the day, any day of the year.” It added: “This means planners and excavators get access to the data they need, when they need it, to carry out their work effectively and safely.”

The government has predicted that NUAR will bring “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.”

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, said: “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 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. OS has agreed to operate NUAR on a “cost recovery basis”. In the upcoming months, NUAR’s services will be transitioned to OS from AtkinsRéalis. The commission has collaborated with AtkinsRéalis to develop the existing NUAR from a minimum viable product, where its use is constrained to testing and feedback, into a public beta service by spring. From that point, NUAR will be used in real-life situations by any eligible asset owners, their contractors and accredited surveyors “to help ensure safe digging and excavation”.

Project Director for NUAR at AtkinsRéalis, Guy Ledger, said: “We look forward to supporting the transition to OS, enabling us to continue to build, refine and improve the functionality of the platform.”