© Crown copyright and database rights 2025 Ordnance Survey 0100031673

OS Enhanced Land Cover is a combination of Ordnance Survey 25cm aerial imagery, 5m digital terrain model and data from the National Geographic Database (NGD Topography and NGD Land Cover) for England.

OS Enhanced Land Cover maps natural topographic area features for England to the European Nature Information System (EUNIS) and UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Broad Habitats classification scheme values and provides a percentage of each land cover classification.  Features are mapped to EUNIS habitat type hierarchical view (marine version 2022 & terrestrial version 2021) using Level 1 and Level 2 classification and UK BAP Broad Habitats classification 2008.

The Environment Act 2021 requires developers to provide a Biodiversity Net Gain of 10% 'more or better-quality natural habitat than there was before development'. OS Enhanced Land Cover enables ecologists, developers and landowners to address some of the challenges around baselining and monitoring land cover, habitats and biodiversity in line with Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) legislation.

OS Enhanced Land Cover is intended for desktop analysis of natural habitats, to better plan field work (access and health & safety requirements) and to aid more efficient ‘ground truthing’ on site.