More than 90% of highway authorities have signed up to share data through the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) - the Government digital service, which is operated by Ordnance Survey.

NUAR provides secure, instant access to a map of underground pipes and cables and shares buried infrastructure data for telecoms, energy, water, transport and highways.

The service said that so far, over 80% of known underground assets have been mapped, with over 360 asset owners' data published, covering more than 3.2 million km of pipes and cables.

As of March 2026, 62% of all local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have shared data for their underground infrastructure. This extends to 74% when organisations signed up to share their data are included.

Meanwhile, 81% of highways authorities in England and Wales have already shared data, including major counties such as Devon and Kent County Council - this figure extends to 91% when organisations signed up to share their data are included.

Rob West, acting assistant engineer at Coventry City Council, added: '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.'

NUAR can help prevent accidental strikes on infrastructure. It supports 24/7 operations and self service access. If an accidental strike occurs, NUAR helps emergency response times with immediate access to verified utility data, speeding up safe isolation and restoration of power.

NUAR account manager Ian David said: 'By publishing once and serving many, NUAR is cutting back the burden of admin and freeing up resources.

'It enhances coordination across different teams, such as highways or drainage. For civil engineering crews preparing to excavate the ground, not only does it shave days off lead times and paperwork, but by sharing data in one multi utility map, it means fewer unexpected finds on site, fewer costly stoppages and fewer emergency delays.'