Data sources, method & licences
Every PlotLevels report is built from open public data. We don't use council data or any dataset whose licence forbids commercial use. Each report lists the exact sources and attribution used for that site.
LiDAR (ground and surface models)
From the Scottish Remote Sensing Portal open-data store, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. We use the gridded DTM and DSM files only. Point clouds are not used, which keeps us clear of the one Phase 2 point-cloud set published under a non-commercial licence.
| Survey | Flown | Grid | Measured accuracy (open ground) | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland National LiDAR Programme | 2025–2026 | 0.5 m | ±0.14 m typical (33 pillars) | Contains Scottish Government LiDAR data via the Scottish Remote Sensing Portal, Open Government Licence v3 |
| Coastal LiDAR 2025–2026 | 2025–2026 | 0.5 m | ±0.15 m typical (8 pillars) | Contains Scottish Government LiDAR data via the Scottish Remote Sensing Portal, Open Government Licence v3 |
| Orkney Islands Council LiDAR 2023 | 2023 | 0.5 m | ±0.20 m typical (13 pillars) | Contains Scottish Government LiDAR data via the Scottish Remote Sensing Portal, Open Government Licence v3 |
| LiDAR for Scotland Phase 6 | 2022 | 0.5 m | ±0.13 m typical (28 pillars) | Crown copyright Scottish Government and Fugro (2022) |
| LiDAR for Scotland Phase 5 | 2021 | 0.5 m | ±0.13 m typical (74 pillars) | Crown copyright Scottish Government and Fugro (2021) |
| LiDAR for Scotland Phase 4 | 2020 | 0.5 m | ±0.12 m typical (53 pillars) | Crown copyright Scottish Government and Fugro (2020) |
| Outer Hebrides LiDAR 2019 | 2019 | 0.25 m | not yet tested | Contains Scottish Government LiDAR data via the Scottish Remote Sensing Portal, Open Government Licence v3 |
| LiDAR for Scotland Phase 3 | 2015–2019 | 0.5 m | ±0.14 m typical (48 pillars) | Crown copyright Scottish Government, SEPA and Fugro (2020) |
| Historic Environment Scotland LiDAR | 2010–2017 | 0.5 m | not yet tested | Contains Historic Environment Scotland data © Historic Environment Scotland - Scottish Charity No. SC045925 © Crown copyright and database right 2017 |
| LiDAR for Scotland Phase 2 (DTM only) | 2012–2014 | 1.0 m | ±0.15 m typical (19 pillars) | Copyright Scottish Government and SEPA (2014) |
| LiDAR for Scotland Phase 1 | 2011–2012 | 1.0 m | ±0.15 m typical (28 pillars) | Crown copyright Scottish Government, SEPA and Scottish Water (2012) |
How accurate are the heights?
We test the LiDAR ourselves rather than rely on a general figure (October 2026). Two independent checks:
- Where surveys overlap: at 372 places across Scotland two separate LiDAR surveys cover the same ground. How far they disagree shows how far each can be from the ground, by slope and by ground cover. This gives our working figure: heights are ±0.14 m typical on open ground (95% within ±0.28 m), wider under trees, on steep ground and in gaps the supplier filled.
- Ordnance Survey trig pillars with levelled heights (OS Complete Trig Archive, Open Government Licence): where two surveys cover the same pillar (108 pillars) they agree to 0.12 m RMSE. Single comparisons (444) scatter by ±0.15 m typical, most of which is the pillar's own reference height (bracket height above ground and levelling from the 1950s to 1970s) rather than the LiDAR. The table above gives the typical figure for each survey.
- Does the ± hold up? Our 95% ranges contained the true difference for 93% of held-out overlap cells, 99% of two-survey pillar checks, and 92–96% of cut and fill volumes worked out from two surveys.
Method
- Contours are traced from the 0.5 m (or 1 m) ground grid. Light smoothing removes cell-to-cell noise but is held to a quarter of the contour interval, so lines stay true to the LiDAR at banks and walls. The default interval follows the survey's grid and age: 0.5 m from 0.5 m grids flown in the last 10 years, 1 m otherwise.
- Cut and fill uses the grid (prism) method: each cell's height above or below the platform level times its area. We check it against exact volumes for known shapes and against a triangulated (TIN) surface; they agree to within 0.5%. Side slopes outside the platform are shown separately at 1 in 2.
- Coordinates are British National Grid (EPSG:27700) in metres, heights in metres above Ordnance Datum Newlyn, as supplied. CAD files are not reprojected.
- Trust map: each report marks ground under trees or buildings, steep ground, sharp banks, survey joins and any patch the source data filled by interpolation.
Map layers and other data
| Source | Used for | Attribution / licence |
|---|---|---|
| SEPA Flood Maps | Flood map overlay and buildable-area screen | ©SEPA 2025; this SEPA product is licensed under the Open Government Licence version 3.0. Third-party data attribution statements: https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/5zidnja5/sepa_flood_maps_data_attribution_statements.pdf (SEPA flood maps are indicative and not suitable for individual properties). |
| Historic Environment Scotland designations | Heritage checks and buildable-area screen | Contains Historic Environment Scotland and Ordnance Survey data © Historic Environment Scotland - Scottish Charity No. SC045925 © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Open Government Licence v3. |
| NatureScot protected areas | Nature checks and buildable-area screen | Contains NatureScot information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3. |
| Mining Remediation Authority (Coal Authority) Development High Risk Area | Coal mining check | Contains Mining Remediation Authority (formerly the Coal Authority) data, Open Government Licence v3. |
| BGS Geology 1:50,000 | Geology | Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2026 (BGS Geology 1:50,000 via BGS web map service, Open Government Licence v3). |
| UKHSA/BGS Indicative Atlas of Radon | Radon | Indicative Atlas of Radon (v3): contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2022. Radon Potential classification UK Health Security Agency © Crown copyright 2022. Open Government Licence v3. |
| James Hutton Institute Land Capability for Agriculture | Land capability | Land Capability for Agriculture 1:50,000 / 1:250,000 copyright and database right The James Hutton Institute. Used with the permission of The James Hutton Institute. All rights reserved. Any public sector information contained in these data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v.2.0. |
| OpenStreetMap | Faint base map on report figures and plan sheets (roads, buildings, water), the change check and address search (Nominatim) | © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence (ODbL) 1.0. Base map data is used unaltered apart from styling and clipping to the site. |
| postcodes.io | Postcode search | Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right; contains ONS data. Open Government Licence v3. |
Constraint checks
Used for the protected areas, woodland, peat, coal mining, drinking water, transport and power line checks in every report.
| Dataset | Publisher | Licence | How we use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Parks (Cairngorms; Loch Lomond & The Trossachs) | Scottish Government | Open Government Licence v3.0 | Live map service |
| National Scenic Areas | Scottish Government | Open Government Licence v3.0 | Live map service |
| World Heritage Sites | NatureScot (UNESCO boundaries) | Open Government Licence v3.0 | Live map service |
| Wild Land Areas 2014 | NatureScot | OS OpenData licence | Live map service |
| Ancient Woodland Inventory | NatureScot | OS OpenData licence | Live map service |
| Native Woodland Survey of Scotland | Scottish Forestry | Open Government Licence v3.0 | Live map service |
| Felling permissions and licences | Scottish Forestry | Open Government Licence v3.0 | Live map service |
| Statutory Plant Health Notices | Scottish Forestry | Open Government Licence v3.0 | Live map service |
| Carbon and Peatland 2016 (wind farm spatial framework version: class 1 and 2 only) | NatureScot | Open Government Licence v3.0 | Live map service |
| Drinking Water Protected Areas (rivers, lochs, catchments, groundwater) | SEPA | Open Government Licence v3.0 | Live map service |
| Coal mining: mine entries, shallow workings, high risk area, outcrops, surface mining, reporting area | Mining Remediation Authority | Open Government Licence v3.0 | Live map service (map tiles, accurate to about 10 m) |
| Overhead and underground electricity lines (north of Scotland, 11 kV to 33 kV) | SSEN Distribution (SHEPD) | CC BY 4.0 | Monthly download, cached |
| Trunk roads (roads flagged trunk) | Ordnance Survey (OS Open Roads) | OS OpenData licence | Download, April 2026, bundled |
| Railways and level crossings | OpenStreetMap contributors | ODbL 1.0 | Live query |
Data we don't use, and why
| Dataset | Why not |
|---|---|
| SP Energy Networks overhead lines (central and south Scotland) | Needs an account on the SPEN open data portal. Not used; for sites outside the SSEN north of Scotland area, ask SP Energy Networks. |
| Full Carbon and Peatland 2016 map and the Muirburn peatland map | Non-Commercial Government Licence: cannot be used in a paid product. We use only the open wind farm framework version (class 1 and 2). |
| Trunk road network from the Spatial Hub | Public-sector-only licence (PSGA). We use the open OS Open Roads trunk flag instead. |
| SEPA reservoir inundation maps | SEPA's terms do not allow commercial reuse. We link to SEPA's own map instead. |
| Caledonian Pinewood Inventory | Licence not stated in the published metadata. Not used; native pinewoods are covered by the Native Woodland Survey. |
| Improvement Service Spatial Hub layers (local plans, tree preservation orders, council-held data) | Needs an account and a licence. Planned for phase 2. |
| Gas pipelines, HSE consultation zones (Linesearch), Scottish Water assets, Historic Environment Records, title, crofting, airport and MOD safeguarding | No open, commercial-use data. Listed in each report under 'What we can't check' with who to ask. |
The Open Government Licence v3.0 is published at nationalarchives.gov.uk. The James Hutton Institute asks to be told when its data is used in derived products. We tell them before any paid launch.
Scope
- SEPA flood maps are indicative national maps; showing them is not a flood risk assessment.
- Designation checks list what public map layers show; they are not planning advice.
- LiDAR heights describe the ground on the day it was flown; the date is on every page.