User Access Expansion begins to unlock more value from NUAR

Unlocking more value From NUAR: user access expansion begins

The article announces the next phase of the Government's plans to expand access to the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR), enabling more organisations to benefit from underground asset data beyond its current user base of asset owners and their street works contractors. To support this work, Ordnance Survey (OS) has launched a secure NUAR Sandbox environment where organisations can test potential use cases, explore new ways of accessing NUAR, such as through APIs, and help shape future service development.

The expansion follows extensive discovery work conducted by the Government Digital Service (GDS), which identified significant economic, operational, and safety benefits from providing broader, but still secure, access to underground asset data. The sandbox programme will allow OS and participating organisations to gather evidence on how NUAR could support additional user groups while ensuring data security remains a top priority through the use of synthetic, non-live data.

The article highlights a wide range of organisations that could benefit from expanded access. Emergency services could use NUAR to improve situational awareness and decision-making during incidents such as fires, floods, and gas leaks. Local authorities and other public sector bodies could use the data to support planning, resilience, and infrastructure coordination activities. Asset owners and their service providers could integrate NUAR into wider operational systems and workflows, while developers, landowners, and organisations working near underground assets could use the platform to improve planning, reduce risk, and avoid costly utility strikes.

Organisations interested in participating are encouraged to submit their use cases to OS for assessment. Initially, priority will be given to emergency service organisations, helping OS better understand how NUAR can support critical services. Participants accepted into the programme will benefit from early access to emerging capabilities, opportunities to influence future service and policy design, and the ability to help ensure NUAR meets a wider range of operational requirements.

The article also explains how the testing programme will operate. Organisations will move through a structured process that includes registering interest, use case assessment, onboarding to the sandbox environment, testing scenarios, providing feedback, and contributing evidence to inform future decisions. Testing will evaluate the value, feasibility, security, and suitability of different use cases and access methods, including user interfaces, APIs, and role-based access controls.

Finally, the article outlines the support OS will provide throughout the process, including onboarding guidance, technical support, testing materials and feedback mechanisms. In return, participants are expected to provide defined use cases, dedicated contacts, active involvement in testing activities and feedback on findings. Together, this evidence-led approach will help inform the future design of NUAR, potential policy developments and decisions around wider access to one of the UK's most important infrastructure datasets.

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