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Scotland’s LiDAR revolution: First data release to reveal Scotland’s landscape in unprecedented detail

January 29, 2026 by Stewart Hamilton No Comments | Category Digital Scotland, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)

Guest blog by Prof. Mathew Williams, Scottish Government Chief Scientific Adviser for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

We are pleased to announce this week the first release of data from Scotland’s new national land Light Detecting and Ranging (LiDAR) programme, delivered by the Scottish Government with multiple partners. The goal of the programme is to sustain the nation and enhance well-being and the economy through a profound improvement in the mapping of our environment.

The Scottish Land LiDAR Programme is running from May 2025 – July 2027. By January 2026 around 15% of Scotland has been mapped. Data are being released in blocks when all products have been processed.

Today the first two blocks, totalling almost 2000 square kilometres (2.5%) of Scotland’s land mass have been uploaded to the remotesensing.gov.scot portal for open, public access. The new data have been collected at high resolution, 10 points per square metre, giving unprecedented details of Arran and other western areas. Further data releases are expected at approximately 6 month intervals through the programme to provide full national coverage above high tide.

New data available from the Scottish Land and LiDAR programme on remotesensing.gov.uk gives unprecedented details of Arran and other western areas

The Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate is looking to ensure that the data are released on open licence to provide broad and easy access. Work is underway to develop a next generation platform for data sharing.

Our contractors flying the LiDAR plane over the Scottish landscapes as part of our national land LiDAR programme. Image provided by: https://bluesky-world.com/

Our use of LiDAR data

Maps are one of humanity’s most important inventions, allowing us to understand our environment, our place within it, and plan our activities and movements. The objective for all mapmakers is to enhance their representation of landscapes. There is now a revolution in mapping that can deliver a major step forwards in accuracy and detail, using LiDAR technology. LiDAR uses lasers mounted on special aircraft to boost three-dimensional mapping. The precision of lasers provides a step-change in information, making measurements of height at very fine (centimetre) resolutions, 100 times more precise than Ordnance Survey maps. LiDAR maps the terrain, but also maps objects above the ground surface, such as trees and buildings.

LiDAR is accurate enough to allow determination over time of the growth of forests, restoration of peatlands, erosion of soils along river channels and coastlines above high water, or construction of buildings, for example.

The Scottish Government is funding research to help understand and use LiDAR data more effectively, with a focus on environmental and agricultural issues, such as mapping the state of Scotland’s peatlands, woodlands and forests. Such mapping will help determine and support progress towards national climate, tree planting and nature restoration objectives.

This LiDAR investment can also support businesses, agencies and the public. For instance, LiDAR could be used to support farmers to map biodiversity on their farms by identifying hedgerows, wetlands and trees outside woodlands. LiDAR can identify most precisely where heavy rain will flood fields and where gradients cause vulnerability to erosion or loss of fertiliser into waterways. This knowledge can help farmers to adjust their management, conserving their resources, and protecting the environment.

A Collaborative Effort

The Scottish Land LiDAR Programme is the result of collaboration across government. The Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) team and digital teams have worked collaboratively with UK Government Digital Services, who have provided our mechanism for data collection through the Aerial Photography for Great Britain (APGB) Project.

The programme is funded jointly by the Scottish Government (including Agriculture and Rural Economy, Environment and Forestry, RESAS, Agricultural Reform Programme and Digital), SEPA, FLS, NatureScot, Scottish Water and Scottish Forestry.

Professor Mathew Williams, Chief Scientific Adviser, Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, EnFor/ARE/DECC

Previous blogs on this topic
October 2025: Digital Mapping the Future: Scotland’s LiDAR Revolution – Digital

Tags: LiDAR data, Scottish Land LiDAR Programme

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