LSBUD’s Digging Up Britain Report
Digging Up Britain 2025: Advancing Safety Through Shared Responsibility
The Digging Up Britain 2025 report marks the eighth annual edition of LSBUD’s industry review, continuing its vital mission to make safe digging accessible to all. As underground infrastructure becomes more complex and widespread, the report emphasises the importance of locating and protecting these assets before any ground is broken, whether for large-scale infrastructure projects or simple home improvements.
This year’s report explores the UK’s progress in safe digging practices by highlighting key trends, safety efforts, and improvements in asset visibility. It presents a picture of growing collaboration across industries, with telecoms providers, energy companies, water suppliers and transport authorities joining forces to increase safety. Networks such as toob, AllPoints Fibre, Welsh Power and Transport for London are now part of a shared commitment to reduce utility strikes and protect vital infrastructure.
Central to the report is LSBUD’s expanding online search platform, which now safeguards over 2 million kilometres of underground and overhead assets. With more than 600 million interactions each year, the service is a critical tool for contractors, utility companies and the public alike. Its core message remains clear and unchanged: safe digging is for everyone, not just the few.
“Particularly during the challenges that we have all faced over the last 18 months, it is critical that we can ensure our customers and contractors are able to access our records remotely with an immediate response. This enables them to work safely and also protects our assets. These customers are diverse and wide ranging across a wide section of industry from infrastructure building to domestic works. Through the use of the LSBUD system we look forward to helping them work safely during the continual increase in works across our operational area over the coming years”
Steve Fraser
Chief Executive
“The 2021 LSBUD Digging Up Britain Report is a must-read and powerful insight for all utilities and contractors engaged in any kind of excavation work for street and road works. It is good to see that LSBUD goes from strength-to-strength in its coverage of almost 100 asset owners. The report complements well Streetworks UK’s own survey work in 2020 around excavation working practice, and further reinforces the need to share information on LSBUD’s world class platform.
Mind you, we should be concerned that 500 000km of underground assets remain unregistered, particularly when the infrastructure boom – so neatly described in this Report – is now breaking over us. The Geospatial Commission leadership would do well to read this report closely, and ensure its forthcoming work is additive to existing systems.”
Chief Executive
“While most of the gas network is underground and out of sight, it plays a central role in the daily lives of people across Wales and south west England. From heating homes and powering businesses, to keeping the lights on, 7.5m people rely on our network – now more than ever. We’re committed to protecting the gas network to keep the gas flowing safely. So we’re pleased to be working with LSBUD to enhance the support we can provide groundworkers and civils contractors, helping them and others easily access our plans at the same time as they search for other services in the area.”
Graham Edwards
Chief Executive
