Access underground asset information faster to plan and deliver work on public infrastructure assets more efficiently

By providing an instantly accessible, secure and standardised view of underground assets across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) complements and enhances how local and highway authority organisations undertake their existing safe digging practices as set out under HSG47 and other regulatory frameworks. Instead of sourcing and interpreting records from multiple organisations, users can quickly access standardised asset information, helping them make faster, better-informed decisions. From design and construction through to maintenance, operation and emergency repairs, NUAR improves visibility, strengthens coordination, reduces delays and helps minimise the risk of costly utility strikes. Supporting safer and more productive delivery of local and highway authority works.

In June 2025 the Data (Use and Access) Bill received Royal Assent, putting NUAR on a statutory footing for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The regulations to establish NUAR as a statutory register remain in progress with the UK Government. The data provided by asset owners who have voluntarily joined the service so far covers over 80% of the known underground assets. 

Why use NUAR

Support safer excavation

With thousands of accidental utility strikes occurring each year, NUAR gives teams instant access to underground asset information from multiple organisations, helping them understand what lies beneath the ground and make safer, more informed decisions when planning works.

Reduce time spent gathering asset information

NUAR provides instant access to underground asset information from multiple organisations through a secure digital service, reducing the time and effort needed to obtain data, helping teams plan works more efficiently.

Standardised asset visibility

NUAR brings together underground asset information from multiple organisations into a clear, standardised view, helping teams identify constraints earlier, improve coordination and plan works more efficiently.

Who can benefit?

NUAR supports a range of organisations across local and highway authorities, including:

  • Street works teams
  • Highways and transportation teams
  • Network management teams
  • Traffic management officers
  • Planning and infrastructure teams
  • Engineering and maintenance teams
  • Emergency planning teams
  • Asset management teams

The service is also available to authorised supply chain contractors working directly on behalf of participating asset owners.

Typical use cases

Reduce the Risk of Utility Strikes

With an instant, standardised view of underground assets to increase risk awareness when planning works to support safe digging practices

Understand What's Beneath the Ground

Use standardised asset data to inform site orientation, surveys and early-stage decision-making for installation, maintenance and repair of your assets

Emergency Response

Enable faster access to underground asset information when responding to urgent road repairs and weather related incidents

Supporting local and highway authorities

So far, over 70% of local authorities and 90% of highway authorities have signed up to share data on their critical assets on NUAR, saving time and costs in many ways.

Kevin Ferguson, Project Manager for Integrated Highways Asset Management Service at Durham County Council said: "In common with other local authorities up and down the country, the system we were using was not as quick as we would like. We were among the fastest nationally to do something about it, as one of the first to adopt NUAR. There's less waiting now. When I look at all of the teams, certainly within highways, there’s a more structured approach now. We've got a system that deals with all the underground assets, to assist our planning of works. It’s simplified working between teams as well, which is much better. In some cases, it has saved weeks’ worth of time. Our drainage teams noticed a massive improvement."

Ashley Behan, Traffic Manager at Lincolnshire County Council said "NUAR provides a central place for all asset owners’ information. This allows processes to be streamlined and the timeframe for gathering information to be significantly expedited, giving time and efficiency savings of approximately 75% when the system is fully in use."

Rob West, Acting Assistant Engineer at Coventry City Council said: “Before NUAR, we would have to log into multiple providers, each with a different user interface which was a very jarring and inefficient way of working compared to NUAR. We were also unknowingly chasing to find out who owned our own assets! If you like efficiency, and more information – sign up to NUAR.”

Supporting local government reorganisation

We are committed to supporting local authorities as they move through local government reorganisation. Service delivery continues throughout this process, including the functions that NUAR helps to support.

We encourage authorities to engage with the NUAR team as early as possible, so we can work together to identify the most effective approach for sharing local authority data in NUAR as new authority arrangements are introduced.

Read the Durham County Council case study

Get access to NUAR

Contact us to find out how NUAR can help your organisation improve planning, coordination and visibility of underground infrastructure.

Contact us