BGS Civils: engineered fill

BGS Datasets

Key information

Scale:
1:50 000
Coverage:
Great Britain
Availability:
Licensed
Format:
GIS line and polygon data. (ESRI, MapInfo, others available by request.)
Price:

BGS Civils bundle (all 8 layers) £0.50 per km2

BGS Civils individual layers £0.30 per km2

Subject to number of users, licence fee and data preparation fee.

Uses:
Local-level use

Get data

Free access

Our free data is available under the Open Government Licence. Please acknowledge reproduced BGS materials.

BGS Civils: engineered fill sample data
Supporting documents

BGS Civils is a suite of national maps of engineering properties based on geological data and the digital 1:50 000-scale geological map — BGS Geology 50K.

It comprises eight layers: 

The primary goal of the product is to provide the key engineering characteristics of the geology of Great Britain to professional users who need simple and rapid access to such information. You might be planning pipeline routes avoiding difficult ground conditions, calculating tender costs for trench excavation or you might need knowledge of ground properties in order to plan your daily activities.

The data is provided as GIS shapefiles that are available to licence individually or as a bundle to meet your own requirements.

This dataset

This theme provides information on the suitability of a geological material to be used as engineered fill.

The spatial model covers England, Scotland and Wales at 1:50 000 scale using data from the following BGS datasets:

The use of engineering fill is an important consideration in the civil engineering and extractive industries. The rapidly increasing cost of removing material off-site, and especially disposal of unused material, means that a great deal of effort is now taken to identify if and how these materials can be used on-site.

A large yellow digger excavating brown soil on top of a soil heap.
Information icon

Excavated material can often be used for other purposes. Source: Didgeman/Pixabay.

What is engineered fill?

‘Fill’ is a material that is used to fill in a depression or hole in the ground, create mounds or otherwise artificially change the elevation of the ground. These may include:

  • earthworks that infill, raise or level the ground
  • embankments
  • foundation pads
  • landscaping
  • road bases

Fill may be engineered or non-engineered.

Engineered fill is selected, placed and compacted to an appropriate specification in order that it will exhibit the required engineering behaviour.

Non-engineered fill usually involves the disposal of waste materials. Normally such fill would occur on sites where uncontrolled filling has taken place and therefore no reliance can be placed on the type of fill material and method of placement.

Classification

The classification for the engineered fill theme primarily follows the Highways Agency classification but is also informed by expert judgement and methods previously used by the BGS. The description of the classification can be found in the free downloadable user guide.

You may also be interested in

BGS Geology 250k sample

Datasets

We have a wide range of licensed geoscience data. The datasets range from the geological data family (BGS Geology) to offshore data, ground stability datasets and 3D models.

Show more
BGS civils bulking sample

BGS Civils: bulking volume

BGS Civils is a suite of national maps of engineering properties based on geological data and the digital 1:50 000 scale geological map – BGS Geology 50k.

Show more
BGS civils discontinuities sample

BGS Civils: discontinuities

This theme provides information on the discontinuities in bedrock and superficial deposits as part of a suite of GIS layers for different engineering parameters.

Show more
BGS Civils excavability sample

BGS Civils: excavatability

This theme provides information on the excavatability of geological deposits at surface.

Show more
BGS Civils foundation conditions

BGS Civils: foundation conditions

This theme provides information on the suitability of a geological material for foundations as part of a suite of GIS layers for different engineering parameters.

Show more
BGS Civils corrosivity sample ferrous

BGS Civils: corrosivity ferrous

The BGS corrosivity dataset is a GIS layer supporting the management of underground iron assets that has been created in response to the growing awareness of the cost of maintenance of structures such as pipelines and building foundations.

Show more
BGS Civils strength sample

BGS Civils: strength

This theme provides information on zones of rock strength and the local factors controlling it, as part of a suite of GIS layers for different engineering parameters.

Show more
BGS Civils sulfate sample

BGS Civils: sulfate/sulfide potential

The BGS Civils: sulfates and sulfides dataset is a GIS layer that supports the management of underground assets

Show more

Was this page helpful?

  • How can we make this section better?*

  • Please select a reason*

  • How can we make this section better?*