Help Centre

You can search for datasets and display them on the preview map without registering. However, if you wish to download and/or connect to any data you'll need to register for a user account.

Complete the details on this page: /user/register

There are three key stages to the Spatial Hub:

1. Data Collection: The IS has developed strong relationships with local authority data custodians and specialists which allows us to receive regular updates of spatial data via file uploads and/or web service processes.
2. Data Processing: Every three months, the collected data updates are quality assessed, cleaned, standardised, and amalgamated into national datasets. The processing is done using different pieces of data manipulation software running a series of transformational techniques.
3. Data Publication: The standardised national datasets are published. They are available as web services and a variety of file downloads. Metadata records for the national datasets are maintained on the SpatialData.gov.scot Metadata Portal, to where there are direct links from each of the Spatial Hub dataset homepages.

The Spatial Hub has four categories of dataset:

• Local Authority Open Datasets: These datasets are created and provided by our partners in local government (local authorities and National Parks). They are standardised and processed to create our National Datasets. Some local authorities have chosen to use the Spatial Hub as an Open Data Portal, enabling their spatial datasets to be shared and accessed under an Open Government Licence.
• National Open Datasets: These datasets are shared under an Open Government Licence. After creating and logging into a free Spatial Hub user account, anyone can access these datasets as file downloads or web service connections.
• National Premium Datasets: Access to these datasets varies depending on which sector you represent:
  • Public Sector Organisations: These organisations and their members can access data once their Spatial Hub account is registered against the correct PSGA organisation. Please contact us to request this.
  • Academic Institutions within Scotland: These organisations and their members can access data via EDINA's DigiMap service.
  • External Organisations/Users: Comprising commercial and third sector organisations, (i.e., non-public sector or academic) and individual members of the general public, these users can access data via our commercial partners. Please contact us to determine your eligibility for this.
• Other (Not Open) Datasets: Certain datasets (usually contributed by commercial or third sector organisations) can only be accessed by selected organisations or people via bespoke agreements. Please contact us for more details: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

The Ordnance Survey has a PSGA Member Finder Tool on their website where you can check if you're eligible. If you are still unsure, please contact us: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

'Organisation' is the umbrella term used to refer to any institution, local authority and/or company that provides data to the Spatial Hub. Individual users can be members of an Organisation, and access permissions can vary depending on how their Organisation is categorised.

The Spatial Hub has four categories of user with varying degrees of access permission for non-open datasets:

• Public Sector Organisations: These organisations and their members can access most non-open datasets once their Spatial Hub account is registered against the correct PSGA organisation with Spatial Hub. Please contact us to request this.
• Academic Institutions: These organisations and their members can access non-open datasets via EDINA's DigiMap service.
• External Organisations: Comprising commercial and/or third sector users (i.e., non-public sector or academic), these organisations and their members can access premium datasets via one of our commercial partner organisations. Please contact us to request contact details.
• General Public: These users can access non-open datasets via one of our commercial partner organisations. Please contact us to request contact details.

Normally, someone in your institution or place of work will manage the membership of the relevant Spatial Hub Organisation and will arrange access for you. However, if you are unsure, please contact us: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

If you think you may need to create an Organisation for providing data to the Spatial Hub, please contact us: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

There are three roles for Organisation members, giving varying levels of access:

• Admin: Can add, edit and delete datasets, as well as view and manage an Organisation and its membership.
• Editor: Can add and edit datasets but cannot view or manage the Organisation or its membership.
• Member: Can view the Organisation's public and private datasets, but cannot add or edit datasets, nor view or manage the Organisation, or its membership.

The Spatial Hub collects data from other data portals, particularly local authority open data platforms. All our datasets have a corresponding metadata page on the www.spatialdata.gov.scot portal and also www.data.gov.uk. Some of our datasets are used in other organisation’s data portals such as SEPA’s SE Web, Marine Scotland NMPi and Edina’s DigiMap.

When you create your own Spatial Hub user account you will automatically receive your own unique authentication key linked to your account, which is used to generate web service URLs.

If you have forgotten your username and/or password go to password reset to reset your password. If you don't remember your username, contact us .

If you have forgotten your authentication key, please contact us: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

If you wish to delete your user account, please contact us: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

Unused/inactive accounts will be deleted by Spatial Hub staff after a certain period. More details on this can be found in our privacy policy.

If you wish to manage your Organisation's membership, remove/add members or alter an existing member's role, please contact us: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

If you wish to discuss deletion of your Organisation's account, please contact us: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

We require your name, organisation, occupation type (i.e., sector/industry), a username and an e-mail address. More details on personal data collection, use and retention can be found in our privacy policy.

The Spatial Hub admin team undertake quarterly data processing to ensure that all the national and external datasets are regularly updated. Certain datasets (e.g., Planning Applications and Building Standards) are updated daily. The metadata accompanying each dataset will tell you how frequently each dataset is updated, and when the most recent update was applied.

Yes. Each individual dataset's information page gives you the opportunity to view both the geometry and attributes for that dataset. You can preview all dataset geometries using the preview map.

To view a published dataset go to the Datasets section of the site and find your dataset of interest. You can then view the Metadata and/or a Preview of the spatial extent of the data on a map. To access the data itself to use in a suitable application you must first have registered and logged in to a free Spatial Hub account. Then you can either download a copy of the data in a variety of formats or connect to a web service. All Open Datasets are accessible with a free user account, but the 'Premium' datasets require access via a PSGA organisation or commercial licence agreement. To associate your account with an eligible Organisation, please contact us.

You can only do this by going through one of our commercial partners. Please e-mail spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk for further information.

We have developed a short documentation page on using ArcGIS Online for working with Spatial Hub data.

We have developed a short documentation page on using ArcGIS Pro for working with Spatial Hub data.

We have developed a short documentation page on using QGIS for working with Spatial Hub data.

We have developed a short documentation page on using R for mapping with Spatial Hub data.

IDOX Uniform requires a URL that can work within a web browser (not just in GIS software). The Spatial Hub URLs require an additional 'GetCapabilities' function for them to work. Users will need to manually add the following text to the end of their Uniform URL and include their own AuthKey where indicated by [XXXX]:

&version=1.0.0&request=GetCapabilities

Example Spatial Hub URL:
https://geo.spatialhub.scot/geoserver/ext_sgn/wfs?service=WFS&authkey=[XXXX]

Uniform URL with GetCapabilities text added:
https://geo.spatialhub.scot/geoserver/ext_sgn/wfs?service=WFS&authkey=[XXXX]&version=1.0.0&request=GetCapabilities

• You can only use data derived from Open (non-premium) datasets, and only if you are an open data user (i.e. not working for a public sector organisation).
• Creating a web map or app using Open data derived from Spatial Hub web services can expose a user's unique authentication key. Because public sector users are often given additional permissions enabling them to access Premium datasets, they should never reveal their authentication key via public-facing maps or apps.
• Data derived from our Premium datasets must never be shared on a public web map by any user.

If you have any queries about publishing any Spatial Hub data on web maps please contact: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

Any access to third-party organisations would require suitable licensing, for example via a Public Sector Contractor Licence which would need to be provided to the Improvement Service. For more information, please contact: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

We have a partnership agreement in place with University of Edinburgh's EDINA and Spatial Hub data is available to licensed members via their DigiMap service.

The Spatial Hub aims to facilitate access to data wherever possible. However, depending on their source, some datasets are restricted due to licencing restrictions. Please contact us should you wish to discuss further: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

The Open Government Licence, applied to all Open datasets and some Premium datasets, allows you to copy, publish, distribute and transmit, adapt and exploit data commercially and non-commercially — for example, by combining it with other data, or by including it in your own product or application. You must acknowledge the source of the data in any product or application you create from it.

"Other (Not Open)" licences are applied to certain other Premium datasets. This means that their use is limited to any organisation that is a member of the PSGA (Public Sector Geospatial Agreement) or any UK academic institution via Edina's subscription DigiMap service.

You should use the following text: "Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 and Scottish local authority data from the Spatial Hub". You may also need to include your OS licence number if you are using OS data as a basemap.

INSPIRE is an EU Directive, written into Scots law in 2009, intended to ensure that all public sector organisations make their environmental spatial datasets discoverable, viewable, transformed and downloadable. INSPIRE also defines common technical standards for publishing spatial datasets. The Improvement Service helps Scottish local government to fulfil their INSPIRE obligations by providing datasets as discovery services (i.e. metadata records), view services (i.e. web map services), and download services (i.e. web feature services and file downloads).

The Spatial Hub analyses, processes and standardises local government data to ensure they are INSPIRE compliant, before publishing them as national datasets on local government's behalf.

We only create national datasets from those data that are roughly common and consistent across local government (i.e. Planning Applications, Conservation Areas, School Catchment Areas etc.). However, the Spatial Hub also allows registered uploaders to create new pages to add new or different datasets that can then be made available for download and sharing. For more information, please contact: spatialhub@improvementservice.org.uk

All data that is published as part of the Spatial Hub has a corresponding metadata entry in the SpatialData.gov.scot portal (formerly known in short as the SSDI). There is a link to this metadata entry on each national dataset's information page.

If you need to provide a new version of a resource (whether via file upload or API link), please provide a brand-new resource, containing the entire amended dataset, which we will then process and publish at the next available opportunity.

Do not attempt to edit a previously provided resource, as the Spatial Hub will not recognise this as a 'new' resource and any changes will not register.

Spatial Hub users come from a variety of industries including local and national government, the wider public sector, commercial organisations, academic institutions and individual members of the public.

Any visitor to the Spatial Hub can view the dataset catalogue and see the spatial extent of a dataset on the preview map, but to download and/or connect to the data, users must have a registered account and be logged in.