Planning Policy Guidance: Note number 16

Archaeology and Planning

PPG 16 was published by the Department of the Environment in November 1990. This synopsis is an abbreviated paraphrase of the original, at approximately a third of the length. The full document is published by HMSO and is available from them price £3.75

Introduction

1. This guidance is for planning authorities in England, property owners, developers, archaeologists, amenity societies and the general public. It sets out the Secretary of State's policy on archaeological remains on land, and how they should be preserved or recorded both in an urban setting and in the countryside. It gives advice on the handling of archaeological remains and discoveries under the development plan and control systems, including the weight to be given to them in planning decisions and the use of planning conditions. The guidance pulls together and expands existing advice, within the existing legislative framework. It places no new duties on local authorities, and should not place any significant additional burden on local authorities.

2. The guidance is arranged as follows:

A - The importance of archaeology: a general introduction

B - Advice on the handling of archaeological matters in the planning process: Development plans; Sites and Monuments Records (SMRs); Planning applications; Planning decisions; Planning conditions; Discovery of archaeological remains during development

Annex 1- Key bodies and organisations.

Annex 2- Contact Addresses for County Archaeological Officers and SMRs.

Annex 3 - Legislative arrangements:

Annex 4- Secretary of State's criteria for scheduling.

Annex 5- Ancient Monuments (Class Consent) Order 1981.

A: The importance of archaeology

3. Archaeological remains are irreplaceable They are evidence - for prehistoric periods, the only evidence - of the past development of our civilisation.

5. These remains vary enormously in their state of preservation and in the extent of their appeal to the public.

6. Archaeological remains should be seen as a . finite, and non-renewable resource, in many cases highly fragile and vulnerable to damage and destruction. Appropriate management is therefore essential to ensure that they survive in good condition. They are part of our sense of national identity and are valuable both for their own sake and for their role in education, leisure and tourism.

8. With the many demands of modern society, it is not always feasible to save all archaeological remains. The key question is where and how to strike the right balance. Where nationally important archaeological remains, whether scheduled or not, and their settings, are affected by proposed development there should be a presumption in favour of their physical preservation. Cases involving archaeological remains of lesser importance will not always be so clear cut. Taking decisions is much easier if any archaeological aspects of a development site can be considered early on in the planning and development control process.

9. Archaeological records for England currently contain around 600,000 sites and monuments. Some 13,000 nationally important cases enjoy special protection as "scheduled monuments", under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. English Heritage have embarked on a survey programme which is expected to result in significant additional numbers being given this statutory protection.

12. The key to informed and reasonable planning decisions is for consideration to be given early, before formal planning applications are made, to the question of whether archaeological remains exist on a site where development is planned. When important remains are known to exist developers will be able to help by preparing sympathetic designs using, for example, foundations which avoid disturbing the remains altogether or minimise damage by raising ground levels under a proposed new structure, or by the careful siting of landscaped or open areas. There are techniques available for sealing landscaping, thus securing their preservation for the future even though they remain inaccessible for the time being.

13. If physical preservation in situ is not feasible, an archaeological excavation for the purposes of 'preservation by record', may be an acceptable alternative.

14. Both central government and English Heritage have important roles to play. But the key to the future of the great majority of archaeological sites and historic landscapes lies with local authorities.

B: ADVICE ON THE HANDLING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATTERS IN THE PLANNING PROCESS

15. Detailed development plans should include policies for the protection, enhancement and preservation of sites of archaeological interest and of their settings.

16. Archaeological remains identified and scheduled as being of national importance should normally be earmarked in development plans for preservation.

17. All shire counties now maintain Sites and Monuments Records (SMRs) staffed by at least one professional officer, usually employed by the County Council. In London the SMR is maintained by English Heritage. All planning authorities should make full use of the expertise of County Archaeological Officers or their equivalents.

(a) The First Step: Early Consultations between Developers and Planning Authorities

19. The needs of archaeology and development can be reconciled, and potential conflict very much reduced, if developers discuss their preliminary plans for development with the planning authority at an early stage. Once detailed designs have been prepared and finance lined up, flexibility becomes much more difficult and expensive to achieve. In their own interests, therefore, prospective developers should in all cases include as part of their research into the development potential of a site an initial assessment of whether the site is known or likely to contain archaeological remains. The first step will be to contact the County Archaeological Officer or equivalent who holds the SMR, or English Heritage in London.

20. These consultations will help to provide prospective developers with advance warning of the archaeological sensitivity of a site. As a result they may wish to commission their own archaeological assessment by a professionally qualified archaeological organisation or consultant. This need not involve fieldwork. Assessment normally involves desk-based evaluation of existing information: it can make effective use of records of previous discoveries, including any historic maps held by the County archive and local museums and record offices, or of geophysical survey techniques.

21. It is reasonable for the planning authority to request the prospective developer to arrange for an archaeological field evaluation to be carried out before any decision on the planning application is taken. This sort of evaluation is quite distinct from full archaeological excavation. It is normally a rapid and inexpensive operation, involving ground survey and small-scale trial trenching, but it should be carried out by a professionally qualified archaeological organisation or archaeologist. The Institute of Field Archaeologists publishes a Directory of members which developers may wish to consult.

22. Local planning authorities can expect developers to provide the results of such assessments and evaluations as part of their application for sites where there is good reason to believe there are remains of archaeological importance.

23. When planning applications are made without prior discussion with the local planning authorities, the authorities should seek to identify those applications which have archaeological implications, and to assess their likely archaeological impact by consulting the County Archaeological Officer or equivalent and the County Sites and Monuments Record. When it is evident that a particular development proposal is likely to affect archaeological remains, applicants may need to be asked to provide more detailed information about their scheme - for example, the type of foundations to be used - or they may be asked to carry out an evaluation. Planning authorities should also ensure that they are fully informed about the nature and importance of the archaeological site and its setting. They should therefore seek archaeological advice, normally from the County Archaeological Officer or equivalent who in turn may wish to consult locally based museums and archaeological units and societies.

24. The Secretary of State recognises that the extent to which remains can or should be preserved will depend upon a number of factors, including the intrinsic importance of the remains. Where it is not feasible to preserve remains, an acceptable alternative may be to arrange prior excavation, during which the archaeological evidence is recorded.

25. Planning authorities should not include in their development plans policies requiring developers to finance archaeological works in return for the grant of planning permission. By the same token developers should not expect to obtain planning permission for archaeologically damaging development merely because they arrange for the recording of sites whose physical preservation in situ is both desirable (because of their level of importance) and feasible. Where planning authorities decide that the physical preservation in situ of archaeological remains is not justified and that development resulting in the destruction of the archaeological remains should proceed, it would be entirely reasonable for the planning authority to satisfy itself before granting planning permission, that the developer has made appropriate and satisfactory provision for the excavation and recording of the remains. Such excavation and recording should be carried out before development commences, working to a project brief prepared by the planning authority and taking advice from archaeological consultants. In particular cases where the developer is a non-profit making community body, such as a charitable trust or a housing association, which is unable to raise funds to provide for excavation and subsequent recording without undue hardship, or in the case of an individual who similarly does not have the means to fund such work, an application for financial assistance may be made to English Heritage.

28. There will no doubt be occasions, particularly where remains of lesser importance are involved, when the significance of the archaeological remains is not sufficient to justify their physical preservation in situ, and that the proposed development should proceed. Planning authorities will, in such cases, need to satisfy themselves that the developer has made appropriate and satisfactory arrangements for the excavation and recording of the archaeological remains and the publication of the results.

Planning Conditions

29. It is open to the local planning authority to impose conditions to ensure that reasonable access is given to a nominated archaeologist- either to hold a "watching brief" during the construction period or specifically to carry out archaeological investigation and recording in the course of the permitted operations on site to ensure that if remains of archaeological significance are disturbed in the course of the work, they can be recorded and, if necessary, emergency salvage undertaken.

30. In cases when planning authorities have decided that planning permission may be granted but wish to secure the provision of archaeological excavation and the subsequent recording of the remains, it is open to them to do so by the use of a negative condition.

31. Nevertheless, in spite of the best pre-planning application research, there may be occasions when the presence of archaeological remains only becomes apparent once development has commenced. Developers may wish to consider insuring themselves against the risk of a substantial loss while safeguarding the interest of historic remains unexpectedly discovered on the site. Conflicts that may otherwise arise between developers and archaeologists may not be easy to solve although English Heritage, who have a great deal of experience in handling these situations, are ready to offer practical advice. Where fresh archaeological discoveries are deemed by the Secretary of State, on English Heritage's advice to be national importance, the Secretary of State has power to schedule the remains. In the majority of cases, however, it should prove possible for the parties to resolve their differences through voluntary discussion and for a satisfactory compromise to be reached.

The Secretary of State and his Inspectors will have regard to this guidance in dealing with appeals and called-in planning applications, and the Secretary of State expects local planning authorities to have regard to it in the exercise of their planning functions.