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Historic Environment Member Awareness Training

"... the key to the future of the great majority of archaeological sites and historic landscapes lies with local authorities, acting within the framework set by central government, in their various capacities as planning, education and recreational authorities ... (PPG16, DoE, 1990)

Elected Councillors are responsible for shaping the future of our environment through the democratic system. This can have an irreversible impact on a physical heritage that has been developing over thousands of years. The historic environment can also, in itself, have an important impact on the economic and social development of  the local area. This is not least because people value living in an interesting and attractive environment.

Our heritage enjoys a range of legal protection, with local authorities, in  particular, playing a key role through the agreement and implementation of policies contained within the Development Plan structure.  Members may be called upon to take decisions affecting the historic environment in respect of

• determining planning applications  
• highways planning and maintenance
• developing an educational or community resource,
• a constraint on estate management
• a factor in providing disabled access.
• exercising a duty of case for historic assets (whether historic buildings or buried archaeological sites) that the local authority might own

This site is designed to assist local elected  members (at Parish, District and County levels)  by providing a route way to accessing advice and information in carrying out their responsibilities.  A number of case studies are also provided to illustrate different types of management issues.  (Some of these will also appear on the national HELM site).

Sources of Information and Advice

Local authorities in Worcestershire have access to a comprehensive range of information and advice from specialist services.  Although each may have a particular area of responsibility, increasingly they are working together in partnership to deliver a more holistic approach to conserving and managing the remains of the past.

• Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology Service (serving County Council and all Districts with the exception of Worcester City)
• Worcester City Archaeology Service
• District Historic Building Conservation Officers
• English Heritage (West Midlands Region)

The main contact points are summarised   [right click on the link above and select the option 'Open in New Window'  to allow easier reference throughout this document]

Information

It is important that all advice that is provided to Members can be justified and documented, in case any decision is taken to a public Inquiry or other form of public scrutiny.   The primary information databases  are:-

• Worcestershire Historic Environment Record
• Worcester City Historic Environment Record
• Register of Listed Buildings (held at District Planning Offices with copies at  the HERs)
• Register of Scheduled Ancient Monuments (via English Heritage with summaries on the HERs)

In addition, the National Monument Record contains details of a number of archaeological sites and monuments in the county.  This is now considerably out of date but will ultimately be updated as a record of activities via the national OASIS project.

The HERs are publicly-accessible computer databases, backed up by substantial collections of paper achieve and collections of aerial photographs.  Based upon corporate Geographical Information Systems, they now offer enormous potential for complex searches and the ability to compare historic environment information with other datasets held by the local authority and other bodies.  The process of collecting new information is a dynamic process, with each new find being used to refine interpretation and future strategies.  The extent of the Record is, however, dependent on the scale of previous activity in an area.  In many cases, therefore, a professional judgment has to be made about the potential nature and significance of any archaeological remains in a locality.

Further information on the County Historic Environment Record

Areas of Responsibility

Archaeology

Advice on the management of over 90% of all archaeological sites and historic landscapes (c.16,000 in Worcestershire) is primarily the responsibility of the Local Authority Historic Environment Services:

• For Worcester City; Worcester City Historic Archaeology Service
• For all other Districts and the County Council:  Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology Service

For the 174 archaeological sites formally designated as being of national importance (Scheduled Ancient Monuments) the lead body is

• English Heritage (West Midlands Region)

Historic Buildings

Those buildings considered to be of particular historic or architectural importance are designated as 'Listed' Buildings'. There are over 6,000 in Worcestershire. These require formal consent for any alteration or demolition.  In the first instance, contact the

• Historic Buildings Conservation Officers for the appropriate District
• English Heritage must  be consulted on those buildings Listed as Grade I or II*

The remit of the District Conservation Officers and English Heritage can be limited to those buildings having formal designations.  But many buildings that have an historic or architectural interest are not 'Listed' -  either because the structure is unrecognised or the remains are fragmentary.  In these instances,

• Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology Service, in consultation with the District Conservation Officers,  may comment on a planning application on the basis  that the buildings have an above-ground archaeological significance (as per PPG16).

Historic landscapes

The County Council has undertaken a Landscape Character Assessment which defines the fundamental characteristics of the landscape as it exists in the present.  It is hoped to undertake a complementary Historic Landscape Character Assessment from 2005 in order to provide a more detailed  time dimension to this work.  The results will form a series of layers on the County Historic Environment Record and corporate GIS, and  will then inform any proposals that have a setting issue or changes to the landscape  through agri-environmment schemes.  

Churches and Cathedral

Medieval churches are often the oldest surviving building in a community.  They have a continuity of use as places of worship but are also increasingly being used as more secular venues for community activities.

Churches under the control of the Church of England have an exemption from secular planning procedures (dating back to 1913), except where any proposed changes materially affect the exterior of the building).   The Church is, however, expected to follow best practice as it relates to the secular planning controls relating to the historic environment and to consult the local authorities where changes might affect the fabric or archaeological context of a church. English Heritage must also be consulted on any proposals affecting churches that are listed as Grade I or II* historic buildings. The equivalent to the secular planning committee is the Diocesan Advisory Committee, which advises the Chancellor of the Diocese on requests (faculties) for alterations / extensions etc.  The County Archaeology Officer and English Heritage Historic Buildings Inspector  sit on the Diocesan Advisory Committee as official specialist advisors.

It is a statutory responsibility for cathedrals to have a consultant archaeologist, advising the Cathedral Chapter and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England.  Worcester Cathedral therefore has its own consulting archaeologist, working closely with the City and County Archaeologists.

The Advisory Process

Planning

All planning applications and  requests for church faculty are assessed by the Planning Advisory teams of the County Historic Environment and Archaeology Service or City Archaeology Service (as appropriate to the area).  This amounts to around 7,500 applications in all p.a.   The basic principle is to establish if a proposal is likely to damage or destroy an historic asset.  It is not to seek means of undertaking pure research - although any archaeological work undertaken should have a focus towards answering established research aims.  To ensure the best possible advice, the Planning Advisors can call upon expertise from other parts of the Service as required.

A recommendation is then made to the appropriate Planning Committee (County, District or Diocese) as what form of response may be required. This might include

• further information required via Desk-Based Assessment and / or Field Evaluation before the application is determined
• Watching Brief
• Programme of Recording

In extreme cases (less than 1% p.a). it might be recommended that the application be refused solely on archaeological grounds.

Around 4% of all planning applications in Worcestershire result in a recommendation for some form of archaeological intervention.  This has decreased from 7% in 1997 because the quality of information in the HER  has improved - allowing us to better target responses to where input is most needed.

Where appropriate, comments are also sought from English Heritage.  In the case of proposals affecting a Scheduled Ancient Monument the applicant must secure a formal Scheduled Monument Consent before undertaking any work.  In these circumstances it is clearly important that the local authority and English Heritage liaise closely to ensure that advice is compatible.

This advice is documented through a formal Brief which is sent to the appropriate Planning Department and also to the applicant.  The Brief outlines the justification for the recommendation and establishes the scope of work which would be required to fulfill any planning condition.  The process  follows the principles set forth in national guidance (PPG15 ands PPG16) and the policies contained within the Local Development Plans.  The scope of work has to be consistent with national professional guidelines (Institute of Field Archaeologists and the local Standards and Guidance for Archaeological Projects in Worcestershire  (75.97 KB).  If approved by the members of the Planning committee it becomes the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the terms of any condition are met.  This is normally achieved by employing an archaeological contractor who will provide a Written Scheme of Investigation to detail how the terms of the brief will be met.   It should be noted that the work will not be considered finally complete until a final Report is submitted.   Such reports are usually only printed in limited numbers ('Grey Literature') but it is hoped that new reports will soon become available for Member and public scrutiny as downloadable PDF files from the Worcestershire Historic Environment Service web site.

Further information and guidance on Planning and Archaeology in Worcestershire

Agri-Environment Schemes

Over 70% of all historic sites and landscapes do not fall within the remit of the planning process but are, nevertheless under considerable risk from everyday processes and changes to land management regimes.  Control  is primarily exercised through the incentives offered by compliance with an expanding range of agri-environment grant schemes.  The Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology Service assess each application and provide advice to DEFRA on the presence of features relating to the historic environment and the implications of any proposals.  The schemes take an holistic approach to development and the concerns of the historic environment are considered alongside those of the natural environment.  Success therefore depends on close liaison across a wide range of agencies.

Further information on Farming and Archaeology in Worcestershire

Historic Assets owned by Local Authorities

Local Authorities are major landowners and may own or control a large number of historic buildings or archaeological sites.  Some they may be aware of (i.e. major medieval buildings) but others they may not (i.e. buried archaeological sites).

Local Authorities are encouraged to undertake an audit of such assets and to ensure that they have appropriate management plans which can demonstrate the Authority following good practice -  setting a lead for the community.

The Audit  may be simply undertaken by overlaying details of property ownership over the City or County Historic Environment Record (as appropriate) and by undertaking a simple computer search.  Officers of the the Historic Environment Services and Property Services can then liaise to provide information and any recommendations to Members.

The Historic Environment - a positive asset

The emphasis in the above document has been on mechanisms of regulation and control.  This should not obscure the fact that the historic environment can be promoted as a positive asset for the future development of the county.  It provides a key element of that  'sense of place' that makes Worcestershire an attractive place to live and work.   Members and officers need to work alongside prospective developers to ensure that the historic asset is not seen as a burden - but something to promote as part of their development.   Over recent years, local archaeologists have become skilled at working alongside architects and developers to devise mitigation measures that protect the historic environment but still allow progress to be made.  The historic resource should also be promoted within the National Curriculum and throughout the Lifelong Learning process as a feature to excite and inspire local communities.  

For further information on community archaeology in Worcestershire

Further Training

Elected members should also have the best possible training to enable them to make high-quality decisions on local historic environment issues. The Government urges all local authorities to ensure that elected members have access to training in respect of the historic environment wherever it is needed. The Historic Environment: a force for our future, DCMS 2001

We are hoping to organise a formal programme of training for local members over the coming months, in conjunction with the City of Worcester Archaeology Service.

In the meantime, we would be pleased to provide an informal tour of our offices so that you might get a better understanding of the range of functions that we undertake on your behalf.  If you are interested please contact the Head of Historic Environment and Archaeology Service, Malcolm Atkin on 01905 855474 or e-mail at matkin@worcestershire.gov.uk