ALCR14794: Post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification Surveys

England and Wales are covered by detailed site surveys for Agricultural Land Classification (ALC). The dataset contains scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites, such as Penenden Heath and Sittingbourne, surveyed between 1989 and 1999. It includes the subdivision of Grade 3 land into subgrades 3a and 3b, with some surveys providing unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions.

Use Cases

• Land use planning decisions based on detailed agricultural land quality grades.
• Historical analysis of soil characteristics using unedited sample point and soil pit data.
• Validating modern land assessments against legacy survey maps and reports.

Strengths

• Surveys were conducted in detail by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food between 1989 and 1999.
• Maps are available at high detail, typically at a scale of 1:10,000, ranging from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000.
• Includes the specific subdivision of Grade 3 agricultural land into subgrades 3a and 3b.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, specific columns, and license are unknown across all sources.
• Data is based on scanned original paper documents, which may limit machine-readability and analysis.
• The 'last updated' metadata field shows a future date (2026), indicating a potential data integrity issue.

Provenance

Source

Natural England, based on surveys by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Collection Method

Scanned original paper maps and survey reports from detailed site surveys.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

2026-07-13 12:48:00.667248

Geography

England and Wales, specifically sites like Penenden Heath (Maidstone) and Sittingbourne.