Introducing OS 3D Plus from CentremapsLive

OS 3D Plus is our new offering bringing together Ordnance Survey's detailed mapping with terrain data, extruded buildings and trees (Bluesky's National Tree Map).

You’ll find it in the 3D Models and UAV Imagery section, listed as OS 3D Plus: OS MasterMap with Terrain, Buildings and Trees. It sits alongside our AccuCities 3D building models and drone imagery, so every 3D option we offer is now in one place on the interface you already use to order your base mapping.

The 3D set has been developed in-house by Centremaps as a new way to view and use your data. We take mapping you already know and trust and present it in three dimensions, so you can understand a site at a glance rather than piecing it together from flat plans.

For years OS MasterMap Topography has been the starting point for almost every site based project in Great Britain. It is the most detailed large scale mapping available and it is the layer that architects, planners, engineers and surveyors reach for first. But it has always been flat. Buildings are outlines, the ground is a plane and the trees that shape so many sites simply don’t appear. If you wanted to see your site in three dimensions, you either built a model yourself or commissioned one and both options took time and money that early stage projects rarely have.

The new 3D set closes that gap. It takes the MasterMap Topography you would be ordering anyway and lifts it into 3D. Buildings rise to their real heights, the ground follows the actual shape of the land and existing trees appear as solid 3D forms in their true positions. It is a quick and cost effective way to extend your base mapping and it arrives ready to open in the software you already use.

What’s in the 3D set

The 3D set is built entirely from trusted national datasets. Sourcing each one separately and lining them up yourself takes time and specialist know how. Our team has developed a process that combines them for you, so they work together from the moment you open the files.

At its heart is OS MasterMap Topography. You get the full topographic line work you would expect, from building outlines and road edges to fences, kerbs and boundaries. The difference is that every building is extruded to its height and set down on the ground level of the terrain model. That means a building on a hillside sits on the slope where it belongs rather than floating above it or sinking into it and the relationship between neighbouring buildings is shown as it really is.

The ground itself comes from a digital terrain model. Unless otherwise stated this is OS Terrain 5, the Ordnance Survey’s detailed model of the bare earth surface at a 5 metre grid. It captures the rise and fall of the land beneath your site and its surroundings, giving you a realistic base to design on rather than a flat sheet. For anyone thinking about levels, access gradients or how a scheme will sit in the wider landscape, that context is invaluable from the very first sketch.

Trees are the third ingredient and often the one that surprises people most. They come from Bluesky’s National Tree Map, a dataset that records individual trees across Great Britain. Bluesky maps each tree from aerial imagery and height data, recording where it stands, how tall it is and how far its canopy spreads. In the 3D set, each tree appears as an idealised 3D block at ground level and scaled to its calculated height and canopy extent. Trees affect daylight, views, privacy and planning constraints, yet they are usually missing from early models until a tree survey is commissioned. Having Bluesky’s tree data in the model from day one gives you a far more honest picture of a site. It is also a nationally consistent dataset, so you get the same quality of tree information whether your site is in a city centre or open countryside.

Finally, the ready to go CAD output is supplied together with the 2D versions you'd normally expect allowing you to use the data as you need.

Who it’s for

The 3D set is designed for early site planning. If a project needs detailed OS MasterMap Topography anyway, adding building heights, terrain and trees turns that base map into something you can start modelling with straight away.

Feasibility work is the obvious place to start. When you are testing how much development a site can take, it helps enormously to see a proposed massing next to the real heights of the buildings around it. A four-storey block that looks reasonable on a plan can feel very different once you see it beside a row of two-storey houses on rising ground. The 3D set lets you have that conversation early, before time and fees are committed to a scheme that might not work.

It is equally useful for context models. Dropping a design into a realistic setting makes presentations to clients, funders and planning officers far more persuasive than a flat plan. It also helps at pre-application stage, where showing that you have considered the surrounding townscape can smooth the path to a positive response.

Views and visual impact are another strong use. With buildings, terrain and trees all in place, you can get an early sense of sightlines, overlooking and how a new building will sit in the landscape. That is not a substitute for a formal visual impact assessment, but it does help you spot potential issues while they are still easy to design out.

Landscape architects and arboriculturists will appreciate seeing existing tree cover in context before a detailed tree survey is carried out. Engineers looking at drainage, earthworks or access will find the terrain data already aligned with the mapping, which saves time stitching datasets together. In short, anyone who needs a quick and reliable 3D picture of a site can start working in three dimensions without commissioning a bespoke model on day one.

How it compares to our AccuCities 3D models

If you’ve ordered 3D data from us before, you’re probably familiar with our AccuCities models. It’s worth being clear about how the two differ, because they do different jobs.

The OS 3D Plus set is a Centremaps product combination, built from national datasets. Each building footprint from OS MasterMap is raised to a single height and set on the OS Terrain 5 ground surface, and Bluesky’s national tree map data is added. That makes it quick and affordable to produce for almost any site in Great Britain and it’s exactly right for early-stage work, where speed and context matter more than architectural detail. Because the buildings are simple extruded blocks, it doesn’t show roof shapes, dormers, chimneys or facade features.

AccuCities models offer the next level of 3D detail. They are captured in 3D from high-resolution aerial imagery, so every building is modelled from what is actually there rather than lifted up from a 2D outline.

LOD2 delivers accurate roof forms, which makes a real difference for daylight and sunlight studies, solar panel assessments, rights of light and more refined visualisations.

LOD3 goes further and adds architectural detail to the buildings, giving you a model that holds up in close-range views and detailed design reviews.

Put simply:

• OS 3D Plus set: a Centremaps output, with national coverage, block buildings, terrain and trees. It’s fast and cost-effective, and best for feasibility, early massing and context.

• AccuCities LOD2/LOD3: buildings captured from imagery with true roof forms and at LOD3, facade detail. Best for technical studies, planning submissions and high-quality visuals.

For sites where existing aerial photography isn’t current or detailed enough, we also offer UAV imagery. A drone survey captures your site as it is today at very high resolution, which is ideal where things have changed recently or where you need the sharpest possible picture of the ground.

Centremaps has been delivering variations of this offline over many years and our customers use these products together over the life of a project. They start with the OS 3D Plus set to test feasibility quickly and affordably. Then, once the scheme firms up and the extra detail is worth the investment, they step up to an AccuCities model or a UAV capture and ultimate a site survey where absolute measurements are critical.

How to order

Ordering the 3D set works just like ordering anything else in CentremapsLive. Log in, find your site on the map and draw or select your area of interest as you normally would. Then open the 3D Models and UAV Imagery section and choose OS 3D Plus set. Clicking on the product brings up a full description of what is included, so you can check it is right for your project before you add it to your order.

We developed the 3D set because our customers kept asking for a simpler way to see their sites in context. We think it’s a most useful addition to CentremapsLive range. It brings 3D within reach of every project, not just the ones with the budget for a bespoke model and it does so without asking you to change the way you work.

If you are not sure whether the MasterMap 3D set, an AccuCities model or UAV capture is the best fit for your project, get in touch with the Centremaps team. We are always happy to talk through your site and your budget and help you choose the right data for the job.