Unlocking National Insight: The Value of Scotland’s Nationwide High-Resolution Lidar Dataset

Bluesky International, a Woolpert company, is supporting the Scottish Government with a transformative geospatial initiative by capturing a high-resolution national lidar dataset that will be freely available under an OGL (open government licence). Bluesky will be capturing the lidar at 10 points per square metre—delivering one of the highest resolution public lidar datasets of its kind in Europe. Commissioned as part of an extension to the UK Government’s Digital Services Aerial Photography Great Britain (APGB) contract, this project sets a new standard for topographic data quality, coverage, and accessibility across national and local government. The APGB contract between Bluesky and GDS (Government Digital Service) enables all public sector organisations to have access, free at point of use, to the most up to date aerial photography in Britain. Attendees will gain insight into how this high-density elevation data is set to provide invaluable support to projects like advanced modelling in flood risk, land use, forestry, vegetation mapping, archaeology, infrastructure, and more. The value-add of being able to access this data will advance projects at pace, maximise public sector resources, and offer a platform for innovation. Crucially, we will examine how access to a consistent, high-resolution nationwide lidar dataset enables smarter, data-driven policy development at a national level, while empowering local public sector organisations to operate with increased precision and efficiency. From planning and asset management to environmental monitoring and emergency preparedness, the ability to integrate lidar into decision-making processes marks a major evolution in the geospatial capabilities of the public sector. Scotland’s forward-thinking approach demonstrates the value of investing in geospatial data infrastructure as a national asset, one that supports sustainability, resilience, and cross-sector innovation at every level of government.