User guide historic land use

The historic land use dataset contains the hand drawn boundaries for areas of land which have previously been affected by the extraction of minerals, including derelict land, restored quarries (filled and unfilled), tips and spoil heaps and wet areas resulting from mineral working for England and Wales. The data was extracted from a set of paper maps formerly held by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and show mineral planning information collated from the 1940s (retrospective to the 1930) to the mid 1980s when responsibility for mineral planning and the subsequent land use was devolved from central to local government for England and to the Welsh Assembly for Wales. The dataset represents a ‘snapshot’ in time and although there is extensive coverage (approximately 14000 polygons) the extent and attribution is incomplete due to the limitations of the source material.