Access underground asset information faster to plan and deliver work on asset owners’ infrastructure 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 supply chain contractors working for asset owner 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 supply chain contractor 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 supply chain contractors working for asset owner organisations*, including:

  • Civil engineering contractors
  • Utility contractors
  • Highway maintenance contractors
  • Telecoms network contractors
  • Water infrastructure contractors
  • Electricity and gas infrastructure contractors
  • Groundworks and excavation teams
  • Construction and infrastructure delivery partners
  • Design and pre-construction teams, including project managers
  • Site managers and supervisors
  • Engineers and planners
  • Health and Safety professionals

*Asset owner organisation must have shared their data to NUAR, to be able to give their supply chain contractors access.

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 incidents and urgent works on assets

Supporting supply chain contractors delivering critical infrastructure

Supply chain contractors working for asset owners across telecommunications, energy, water, transport, local and highway sectors, such as Esh Construction, Alpha Construction and Balfour Beatty are already using NUAR to access a more comprehensive view of underground infrastructure.

Jordan Richards, Site Engineer at Esh Construction said “NUAR is a great tool, we use it every day as part of our safe excavation process. NUAR is used to identify hazards ahead of works, helping to minimise dangers for our site teams, and providing access to a 24/7 live system of underground cables. I find looking at multiple paper maps at different scales and formats very tricky. With NUAR it’s a much better way to identify buried assets. I can see everything in one place on a common platform. I can switch layers on and off and receive the attribute data that I require to enable me to understand what buried assets are in the ground."

Alpha Construction has embedded NUAR into its excavation planning and permit processes after the service helped teams identify previously uncharted underground assets, avoid potential clashes, and safely continue work in high-risk environments. By providing a more complete view of buried infrastructure, NUAR has improved site safety, reduced delays caused by unknown assets, and increased confidence in planning and delivering construction projects. Robin Denton, Operations Director of Alpha Construction said: “NUAR has helped our client considerably, as traditional routes of investigation would have taken much longer, resulting in delays to the project completion."

John Lodge, Senior Project Manager, Distribution & Utilities at Balfour Beatty said: "NUAR is a game changing powerful extra layer for our projects, that augments what we already use. Having instant access to a standardised view of underground utilities in one map improves safety, planning, and decision-making before we get anywhere near site."

 

Read the Esh Construction 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.

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