dataset · England
LIDAR Composite Digital Terrain Model (DTM) 2m
The LIDAR Composite DTM (Digital Terrain Model) is a raster elevation model covering ~99% of England at 2m spatial resolution. The DTM (Digital Terrain Model) is produced from the last or only laser pulse returned to the sensor. We remove surface objects from the Digital Surface Model (DSM), using bespoke algorithms and manual editing of the data, to produce a terrain model of just the surface. Produced by the Environment Agency in 2022, the DTM is derived from a combination of our Time Stamped
Visit source ↗Source details
Licence: ["There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the licence identified.", "There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the
Evidence quality: 68
Listed in data.gov.uk public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- DTM 2m · bare-earth terrain elevation · LIDAR-derived elevation raster
- Coverage docs-verified
- ~99% of England · Surveys undertaken between 6 June 2000 and 2 April 2022
- Resolution docs-verified
- 2m spatial resolution
- Update frequency docs-verified
- annually
- Formats docs-verified
- GeoTIFF · WCS · WMS · WMTS · OGC API - Features
- Access docs-verified
- Free, no authentication; Open Government Licence v3.0 (attribution: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2022)
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Flood risk assessment ground levels and topography for hydraulic model inputs · Drainage strategy catchment delineation and flow-path analysis from bare-earth terrain · Civils earthworks cut-and-fill volume estimation at site scale
- Audience llm-inferred
- flood consultants · drainage engineers · hydrologists · GIS analysts · civils engineers
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- Surveys date from 2000 to 2022, so recent ground change is not captured · Composite of mixed-date surveys; older or resampled (bilinear) data used where repeat surveys are absent · Covers ~99% of England only, not Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland · Bare-earth model: surface objects such as buildings and vegetation are removed · Stated annual update frequency, but the composite itself was produced in 2022 so check the currency of the tile you use
Evidence
- https://environment.data.gov.uk/api/file/download?fileDataSetId=2ead20b8-c67d-4328-8980-0f8151a6094b&fileName=LIDAR Composite Technical Information Guide.docx
- https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/e529ca2f-b4ce-403e-8cef-ab821061c4f3/lidar-composite-digital-terrain-model-dtm-2m
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.