Renishaw Opencast Coal Site: Post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification Survey

Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data for the Renishaw proposed opencast coal site. The dataset includes scanned original paper maps and survey reports for sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It uses the grading methodology from the 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' guidelines and includes unedited sample point soils data for some surveys.

Use Cases

• Classify agricultural land quality based on the detailed grading methodology described in the survey reports.
• Analyze historical soil characteristics and land suitability based on unedited sample point soils data.
• Map land use changes and agricultural potential for specific sites using scanned geospatial maps at scales from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000.

Strengths

• Data is based on detailed site surveys conducted by a government ministry (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) between 1989 and 1999.
• Includes the subdivision of Grade 3 land into subgrades 3a and 3b, providing finer granularity for analysis.
• Contains original scanned maps and reports, preserving the primary survey documentation.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (survey), Natural England and Ordnance Survey (copyright).

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys with soil analysis, mapping, and report generation.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

Survey data is from 1989-1999; last update date for the dataset is unknown.

Geography

Renishaw, England (specific proposed opencast coal site).