After the brief UK event billed comically as ‘summer’ it feels like autumn’s here – all too soon clearly. With the change in the weather from damp and warm to damp and a bit chillier, we have something of a change in circumstances at the AH Offices in Trudoxhill, outside Frome, Somerset.
After some time of being alone out here in the sticks, we’ve managed to let our downstairs offices/workshop area to a film and tv company from Glasgow who are around for the next couple of months filming a new series of daytime tv favourite ‘Money for Nothing’. The programme features the upcycling of what is basically junk into new saleable items, unlike our archaeology work which more often than not features the recycling of old(er) material into museum archive boxes, often never to be seen again!
On the work front business remains brisk with a good cross-section of archaeology and heritage work coming our way. Some of our more interesting projects have involved some test-pitting alongside an old sea defence on the south coast, the refurbishment of a probably medieval barn, work on a new energy project for Keele University and an upcoming public enquiry for a mid-range housing development. All good then!
Of course the problem with the onset of autumn/winter is the shorter days and longer nights, both in respect of on-site working hours and with the need to drive long distances in the dark for site visits or to appraise historic buildings etc. I for one detest driving in the dark so roll on next summer!
Posts tagged #heritage consultancy
(Watching) Brief Encounter
Watching briefs are one of the most common types of fieldwork we undertake at Armour Heritage, and we thought it was about time we provided a more comprehensive introduction to them! In our experience, the archaeological watching brief usually forms the final part of historic environment led work required on a site, often following on from a desk-based assessment, evaluation trenching or excavation, and is most commonly applied as a condition of planning consent. As a result, our clients range from those that have never dealt with archaeology before, to those who have probably dealt with it, in their opinion, far too much! Either way, at Armour Heritage our consultancy team and fieldwork services are designed to make the process a whole lot easier for all concerned.
The watching brief can often be the only form of fieldwork required by the local planning authority, used as a ‘catch all’ approach in areas where the archaeological potential is considered to be low, or the development small, although in some instances it can form part of a wider programme of archaeological mitigation on large scale development sites. Whatever the approach, one of our first roles at AH is usually to confirm the nature of the works required with the LPA, ensuring all archaeological work carried out is absolutely necessary and appropriate both in terms of the scope of works required and timing.
The majority of our watching briefs are on smaller developments, or on sites where access for other forms of fieldwork is hampered by existing site constraints – we have found that trees, buildings and pesky badgers have all trumped archaeology in recent months! In those cases, through our considered negotiations with local planning authorities, we have been able to defer the fieldwork (and the associated costs) to post-determination. On any given watching brief, we will usually deploy a single archaeologist to work closely with the groundworkers on site to monitor the initial stages of their excavations, be it foundation trenches, services, drainage or enabling works to record archaeological remains that may survive within the site. We oversee the archaeologist(s) to ensure the time spent on site is limited to that which is absolutely necessary to prevent uncontrolled drawn-out monitoring, and ensure archaeology does not impede the general progress of the construction works.
As part of our broader historic environment services at Armour Heritage, we will commission the archaeologist to complete the work through our network of trusted, usually locally-based contractors, to ensure our clients are provided with an experienced operative at a highly competitive rate. When the archaeological fieldwork is complete, the developer is free to complete their building programme whilst AH ensures the final stages of reporting are completed, enabling the archaeological condition(s) to be formally signed off. The processes we adopt at AH in terms of planning conditions are designed to allow our clients to move forward generally unhindered by any archaeological presence at their site, whilst at the same time retrieving and recording any archaeological component within the development – a win-win situation we feel for client and historic environment alike.
Chartered Institute for Archaeologists
After some considerable form filling and a morning entertaining CIfA folk at our Trudoxhill offices, Armour Heritage is very pleased to announce that we are now an approved Registered Organisation.
With the recent exponential growth of the company’s workload and turnover, both in Heritage Consultancy and archaeological fieldwork management, this for us is an important and very welcome addition to our CV.
We applied for the RO scheme at the back end of last autumn, although our work commitments then meant that the initial application forms were filled out in rather piecemeal fashion. However, the important thing for us is that we got there…and not just for us. The RO membership represents a ‘kite mark’ through which our valued clients, existing and future, can feel assured that AH will continue to offer them an excellent professional service, undertaken to the highest standard and in line with the CIfA’s guidance.
As AH continues to advance as a heritage practice, we welcome the support of the CIfA - not just for us, and our clients, but for the profession as a whole.
25 years of developer funded archaeology
The publication of PPG16 (Planning Policy Guidance Note 16, on 'Archaeology and Planning') in November 1990 allowed, for the first time, the integration of archaeology into the planning process, with the responsibility for the funding of any archaeological works falling to the developer.
This represented a sea-change in the approach to archaeology and planning. Whilst previously the discovery of archaeological remains was generally dealt with through a process of ‘rescue’ digs, reliant on central and local government funding, now the archaeological potential of a proposed development site could be assessed in advance. This allowed appropriate mitigation to be set out as a condition or conditions attached to planning consent.
Since the issue of PPG16, and its counterpart PPG15 (Planning and the Historic Environment), which was concerned with built heritage, Conservation Areas and the historic environment, attitudes toward archaeology and heritage in the planning system have fundamentally changed. True enough, we still occasionally hear “…so what happens if you find something, do you bring in students to dig it up…”, from the viewpoint of the developer, dealing with archaeology and heritage matters is now an accepted part of the planning process.
Whilst the tenets set out in the PPGs have been adapted through changes in national planning policy, through PPS5 to the current NPPF, the principles remain, probably stronger now than ever, with the support of a number of guidance documents released by both central government and Historic England.
As heritage professionals, the continued support for heritage through the planning system is of course fundamental to our heritage consultancy's continuing existence, however, stepping away from thoughts of commercial viability, this support needs to remain in place to ensure our heritage is appropriately maintained, recorded and protected.
2016 So Far
So, a new year with new challenges. At AH the year has started brightly with some interesting new projects on our books already, including heritage work in Bridgwater, Swindon and the Liskeard area of Cornwall. Further management of large scale archaeological excavations in Berkshire looks likely, alongside a number of continuing projects across the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Staffordshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Worcestershire and Devon. Still awaiting our ‘Must Farm buried Bronze Age houses’ moment, but we live in hope!
Hits on the web site have increased exponentially over the past few months, and we’re adding new sections all the time so please keep checking it out when you’ve a spare moment.
Domestically we’re still mulling over the financial benefits (or otherwise) of having new offices built from scratch, although looking out of our Foghamshire Lane office window at the frost covered fields, I think we may just prefer to stay where we are. It is a truly stunning morning in Somerset.
