Purbeck has a long history of human settlement which has shaped
the landscape we see around us today leaving a rich legacy of
material remains and evidence of past society both visible and
buried. The District currently contains 257 Scheduled Ancient
Monuments – protected archaeological sites or historic buildings of
national importance – and approximately 680 unscheduled monuments
recorded in the County Historic Environment Record.
Archaeology and Planning
‘Archaeological remains should be seen as a finite and
non-renewable resource, in many cases highly fragile and vulnerable
to damage and destruction… care must be taken to ensure that
archaeological remains are not needlessly or thoughtlessly
destroyed. They can contain irreplaceable information about
our past and the potential for an increase in future
knowledge. 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’. (Planning Policy
Guidance Note 16, DoE 1990)
PPG16 provides statutory guidance relating to archaeological
remains and how they are dealt with by the planning process.
It recommends procedures by which local planning authorities can
deal with planning applications which may affect areas of
archaeological interest.
The importance of early consultation between developers and
planning authorities is stressed.
The County
Archaeological Service, which is based in the Conservation
Group of the County Environmental Services Directorate, can offer
advice to local planning authorities and developers on the
archaeological implications of planning applications.
The Historic
Environment Record (HER) (external link), a register of all
known archaeological finds and historic landscape features in the
county, is also kept in the County Environmental Services
Directorate and is constantly being up-dated.
Thinking of making a planning application?
Information and pre-application advice are available from the
Country Archaeological Service. Queries should ideally be
accompanied by a map showing the location of your site, and an
indication of the kind of development intended. In particular
we need information on the nature and extent of all ground
disturbance envisaged.
The County Archaeological Service monitors all planning
applications submitted to the District Council and assesses their
likely impact based upon information contained in the HER.
Various factors affect the assessment they make:
• the proposed development is located on, or very close to,
a Scheduled Ancient Monument. With a few
exceptions any works to the monument will need Scheduled
Monument Consent from the Secretary of State DCMS.
If the development you propose affects a Scheduled Ancient Monument
or its setting, you should seek advice from both the County
Archaeological Service and English Heritage at a very early
stage.
• the proposed development is located on, or very close to,
an identified archaeological feature.
• there is good reason to believe that the proposed
development will affect previously unrecorded archaeological
remains. For example, infilling in a village which appears to
be medieval in origin is likely to cause damage to archaeological
levels. As a general rule, proposed developments involving
new ground disturbance in Conservation Areas or on undisturbed
Greenfield sites over an acre in size are likely to have
archaeological implications unless it can be demonstrated (for
example, because of past land-use such as quarrying) that this is
not the case. More modest schemes in apparently ‘blank’ areas
may also be of concern to use, because of particular local
factors.
Have you submitted an application, and been advised that
there may be an archaeological constraint?
If it is considered that archaeological remains may be affected
by a proposed development the Archaeological Service may recommend
one of the following:
More information is needed before the application can be
determined
This information is obtained in a staged approach by an
archaeological assessment and, if warranted subsequent field
evaluation. The County Archaeological Service can advise on a
brief of the work, and provide a list of archaeological
contractors.
• An assessment is normally a desk-based
study of existing records maps etc to give information about the
past history of the site.
• An evaluation involves fieldwork, which
can take a variety of forms depending on the nature of the site and
the kind of development proposed. For example, the County
Archaeologist may suggest geophysical survey and/or the digging of
one or more small trenches to ‘sample’ the archaeology of the
development area. The local planning authority will normally
require that this work is done by members of the archaeologists’
professional body (the Institute of Field Archaeologists) or those
of equivalent experience and ability.
The results can be interpreted to show how the proposed
development will affect archaeology, and how damaging
archaeological effects can best be mitigated, perhaps by arranging
for observation and recording during development, by having
foundation trenches dug archaeologically, by designing foundations
and services so as not to cause serious damage, or by moving a
building to a less sensitive part of the site. Occasionally,
when destruction seems unavoidable, the Planning Authority may
accept a large-scale archaeological excavation in advance of
development. The very process of excavation is in itself
destructive, so nowadays we work to avoid excavation wherever
possible.
Archaeological observation and recording should take
place
This may be before and/or during development. Archaeological
remains may be destroyed by the proposed work, but they do not
appear to be of sufficient importance to justify a refusal of
planning permission. However a proper record should be made
before they are destroyed. A condition for observation and
recording means that the applicants are responsible for employing
an archaeologist to undertake this work, and are expected to be
reasonably flexible in allowing them sufficient time to record any
features they may observe. We can advise you on how to make
the necessary arrangements. Such a condition is also a
safeguard for the developer: only in very exceptional circumstances
might an unexpectedly important archaeological discovery lead to
discussions about changes to the development programme.
The proposed development affects a Scheduled Ancient
Monument
Such applications will normally be refused unless the applicant is
able to demonstrate that Scheduled Monument Consent has been
obtained.
The application should be refused
This if in its present form the proposed development involves a
level of destruction of significant archaeological remains which is
unacceptably high. Where prior consultation has taken place
this should be a rare occurrence.
Remember that new information is coming into the Historic
Environment Record all the time. This information forms the
basis of recommendations and thus views about the archaeological
sensitivity of a site may change with time and in the light of new
information.
For Advice & Information
Claire Pinder
Senior Archaeologist (Promotion and Liaison)
Tel: 01305 224921
Fax: 01305 224835
Email: c.j.pinder@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Steve Wallis
Senior Archaeologist (Advice and Management)
Tel: 01305 224222
Fax: 01305 224835
Email: s.p.wallis@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Environmental Services Directorate
County Hall
Colliton Park
Dorchester
Dorset DT1 1XJ
External Links:
County
Archaeological Service (external link)
Historic
Environment Record