OS NGD Land Use

Introduction to the theme

The OS NGD Land Use Theme contains features which are geographical representations of areas identified as having a specific purpose (such as schools, universities, and caravan parks), as well as information about access to such areas.

In comparison with OS data from our traditional Download products, the OS NGD Land Use Theme data has been enriched with additional attribution, including the following:

• Geometry change metadata

• A Description attribute to provide a one-word or simple phrase description of the feature

• Hierarchical land use classification

OS NGD Land Use Theme data contains land use attribution that describes the human or economic activity taking place on areas of land (i.e. how areas of land are being used / their purpose). Whereas OS NGD Land Theme data contains land cover attribution that describes the physical and biological surface of the land.

Data structure

The OS NGD Land Use Theme is made up of the OS NGD Land Use Features Collection, which in turn is comprised of the Site and Site Access Location Feature Types.

OS NGD Land Use Theme data structure diagram showing the theme name, collection name and feature type names.

The Site Routing Point Feature Type which was present prior to Spring 2023 is now in an end-of-life state and is no longer populated. All Site Routing Point features have been recreated as Road Nodes as part of improvements to create a full Multi-Modal Routing Network and they are therefore now accessible via the OS NGD Transport Theme (from the OS NGD Transport Network Collection).

Unique identifiers

Two unique identifiers are provided with each feature within the OS NGD Land Use Theme:

• OSID (Ordnance Survey Identifier): The primary identifier and unique key for this theme.

• TOID (Topographic Identifier): An additional secondary identifier which can aid further data linking. TOIDs are an optional attribute and therefore will not always be provided with every feature.

In addition to OSIDs and TOIDs, features in this theme also have the following unique identifiers assigned to them: Site features have primaryuprn (Primary Unique Property Reference Number) and Site Access Location features have siteid (Site Identifier), routingpointid (Routing Point Identifier), and roadnodeid (Road Node Identifier). Definitions for these additional unique identifiers are available on the two feature type pages for this theme.

What are land use sites?

A land use site is a geographic representation of an area that can be identified as being used for a particular purpose, for example, a school, shopping centre, or private residence. These are captured by OS primarily through manual or automated interpretation from aerial imagery. Sites seek to define the extent of the activity, and while this may be similar to or the same as the ownership information provided by HM Land Registry (HMLR) or Registers of Scotland (RoS), it should not be regarded as representing ownership. Sites do not indicate the definitive or legal extent, but rather the extent of usage or function. Often, the line of a legal boundary will coincide with a physical feature, such as a wall or a fence, but it is important to remember that the legal boundary is not the same as the physical feature.

As of March 2025, three new types of site were added to Land Use Sites descriptions: Beach, Military Training Area and Wind farm. Beaches will include Site Access Locations with attribution that highlights the nearest public road node and the direct distance to that node from the access point on the edge of the beach feature. Military Training Areas and Wind Farms will not include Site Access Locations.

The Access Purpose attribute was also added to Site Access Locations for key public sites in the March 2025 release to identify what a Site Access Location is being used for (Primary Public, Public, Private, or Emergency).

Useful links

• An introductory guide to OS NGD Land Use is available on our More than Maps site. This guide details the layers, formats, and attribution available for OS NGD Land Use data along with additional helpful information.
• Supporting planning and new housing developments: Discover how OS NGD Land Use data can support better planning and future modelling for new housing developments.