Further Analyses of Women’s Institute Survey of Village Greens of England, 1990 Karl Crowther BSc, CEnv, MIEEM Defra Project Ref: WC0808 Report Date: July 2012 1 Contents Contents ................................................................................................................................................. 2 1. Summary .................................................................................................................................... 6 2. Background and introduction ................................................................................................... 10 3. Aims and objectives of the research ......................................................................................... 12 4. Section I: Design of possible character context assessment methodologies for greens (Objective 3). ........................................................................................................................................ 15 4.1 Methods ............................................................................................................................... 15 4.2 Results .................................................................................................................................. 15 4.3 Rationale for design of possible character context methodologies ...................................... 15 4.4 Method 1: Scoring of characteristics based on probability of occurrence ............................ 16 4.5 Method 1: The assessment procedure ................................................................................. 18 4.6 Method 2: ‘Hierarchy’-based approach ................................................................................ 18 4.7 Method 3: Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) Model .................................................. 20 5. Section II: Experimental application of candidate character context assessment methodologies (Objective 4). ............................................................................................................... 23 5.1 Methods ............................................................................................................................... 23 5.2 Results .................................................................................................................................. 23 5.2.1 Method 1: Scoring of characters based on probability of occurrence ............................. 23 5.2.2 Method 2 - ‘Hierarchy’-based approach ........................................................................... 24 5.2.3 Method 3- Landscape Character Assessment Model ........................................................ 25 5.2.4 Summary findings of the three approaches ...................................................................... 27 5.3 Discussion and Conclusions .................................................................................................. 27 5.3.1 Method 1 - Scoring of characters based on probability of occurrence ............................. 27 5.3.2 Method 2 - ‘Hierarchy’-based approach ........................................................................... 28 5.3.3 Method 3 - Landscape Character Assessment Model ....................................................... 30 5.3.4 Overall conclusion for all three methods .......................................................................... 30 6. Section III: Evaluation of the ‘preferred method’ using the ‘extended sample’ of 250 registered sites (Objective 5)................................................................................................................ 32 2 6.1 Methods ............................................................................................................................... 32 6.2 Results .................................................................................................................................. 33 6.3 Interpretation of the outcome ............................................................................................. 35 7. Section IV: Assessment of a sample of non-registered sites using the ‘preferred method’ (Objective 7) and comparison with outcome for Extended Sample (Objective 8). ............................... 41 7.1 Methods ............................................................................................................................... 41 7.2 Results .................................................................................................................................. 41 7.3 What can be inferred about the non-registered sites? ..................................................... 43 8. Towards an overall conclusion on character context assessment ............................................ 45 9. Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 47 10. References and Bibliography .................................................................................................... 48 11. Appendices ............................................................................................................................... 49 Appendix A: Sampling of an additional 40 registered WI Survey sites ................................................. 50 1. Methods ................................................................................................................................... 50 2. Results (Appendix A: Sampling of an additional 40 registered WI Survey sites) ....................... 52 2.1 Sampling an additional 40 sites ........................................................................................ 52 2.2 Reasons for not selecting sites ......................................................................................... 54 2.3 Comparison of results from Precursor Project and Extended Sample .............................. 54 3. Discussion and Conclusions (Appendix A: Sampling of an additional 40 registered WI Survey sites) ................................................................................................................................................. 70 Appendix A1: Proposed additional sampling following Precursor Project to enhance geographic coverage ............................................................................................................................................... 74 Appendix B: Non-registered WI Survey sites – Sampling, and scanning of documents attached to records ................................................................................................................................................. 76 1. Sampling of non-registered WI Survey sites ............................................................................. 76 1.1 Methods ........................................................................................................................... 76 1.2 Results – sampling of non-registered WI Survey sites ...................................................... 77 1.2.1 Full and Partial records……………………………………………………………..………………………………..77 1.2.2 The results for the 91 non-registered sites………………………………………………………………...78 1.3 Discussion and Conclusions – Sampling of non-registered WI Survey sites ...................... 95 3 2. Appendix B: Scanning of documents, photographs etc. ........................................................... 96 2.1 Methods ........................................................................................................................... 96 2.2 Results .............................................................................................................................. 96 Appendix B1: WI National Survey of Town and Village Greens, 1990 – number of completed forms and the occurrence and sampling of non-registered sites ................................................................... 97 Annexes .............................................................................................................................................. 107 Annex 1: Method 1 - Derivation of scores for certain characteristics…………………………………………..….108 Annex 2: Method 3 - Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) Model…………………………………………...109 2.1 Method 3: Potential character description (Section 4.7 of main report) ............................ 109 2.2 Method 3: Suggested recording sheet (Paragraph 4.7.4 of main report) ........................... 111 2.3 Method 3: LCA Model - A potential further refinement (adopting ‘Local Character’ considerations) ............................................................................................................................... 112 Annex 3: Method 3 - Results of trial assessment (‘raw data’ – Paragraph 5.2.3.1 of main report) .... 117 3.1 Findings of the assessment under each ‘feature grouping’ ................................................ 117 3.1.1 Ownership characteristics .............................................................................................. 117 3.1.2 Physical characteristics ................................................................................................... 117 3.1.3 Activities and features indicative of public use............................................................... 117 3.1.4 Land use and management ............................................................................................ 117 3.1.5 Historical context ...........................................................................................................