Heritage and Archaeological Desk Based Assessment
A desk-based assessment will determine, as far as is reasonably possible from existing records, the nature, extent and significance of the historic environment within a specified area. Desk-based assessments will be undertaken using appropriate methods and practices which satisfy the stated aims of the project, and which comply with the Code of Conduct and other relevant regulations of CIfA. In a development context, a desk-based assessment will establish the impact of the proposed development on the significance of the historic environment (or will identify the need for further evaluation to do so), and will enable reasoned proposals and decisions to be made whether to mitigate, offset or accept without further intervention that impact (Chartered Institute for Archaeologist Standard and Guidance).
Archaeological Desk Based Assessments are now widely required to support planning application and are the first opportunity to prepare mitigation strategies.
Archaeological Impact Assessment
The Assessment draws together the available archaeological, topographic and land-use information to clarify the archaeological potential of the proposed development area. The Archaeological Impact Assessment comprises an examination of evidence in the relevant Historic Environment Records, archives depositories, published material and grey archaeological literature. It considers the results of nearby archaeological investigations where readily available, and charts historic land-use through examination of any readily available historic maps.
The Archaeological Impact Assessment will provide an in-depth look at the project design and its potential impact on the known heritage and archaeology within the boundary of the proposed development. It will enable a specific mitigation strategy to be devised to ensure an effective delivery of the project whilst integrating the heritage and archaeological constraints.
Geophysical Surveys
An archaeological geophysical survey will determine, as far as is reasonably possible, the nature of the detectable archaeological resource within a specified area using appropriate methods and practices. These will satisfy the stated aims of the project, and comply with the Code of Conduct, and other relevant regulations of CIfA (Chartered Institute for Archaeologist Standard and Guidance).
Geophysical surveys are a useful tool to rapidly and non-intrusively evaluate a development area. The nature and date of any detected anomaly can subsequently be tested during a targeted Archaeological Field Evaluation.
Archaeological Field Evaluation
An archaeological field evaluation will determine, as far as is reasonably possible, the nature of the archaeological resource within a specified area using appropriate methods and practises. These will satisfy the stated aims on the project, and comply with the Code of Conduct and other relevant regulations of CIfA (Chartered Institute for Archaeologist Standard and Guidance).
When archaeological remains are known or expected to be present within the development site, the local planning authority can request that the results of an Archaeological Field Evaluation are presented before the determination of a planning application. At this stage the project design can be modified to ensure the preservation in situ of the archaeological resource or to avoid delays and extra costs
Written Scheme of Heritage Mitigation
When the need for archaeological work has been established, a Written Scheme of Heritage Mitigation required for a particular project will describe and set in detail the level and scope of the archaeological work to be carried out in the proposed development site by the recording archaeologist in order to mitigate the impact on the standing heritage and / or the buried archaeological resource and historical resource. A detailed budget and time-scale for the archaeological work will also need to be prepared and agreed.
