GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPERS IN WEST YORKSHIRE
How can your submission be affected by archaeology? - How do you find out about Archaeology? - What kinds of archaeological remains could you encounter? - What will it cost to consult the records? - Why protect our past?
West Yorkshire's historic landscape is an important part of our heritage and is provided with protection under the planning process. This leaflet offers guidance to developers on how their development proposals may be affected by archaeology and how archaeological concerns may be accommodated within the design of the development and planning submission.
How can your submission be affected by archaeology?
All applications submitted to the Planning Departments of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield Districts are monitored by the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service (WYAAS) in accordance with Central Government policy.
This is to enable the WYAAS to assess the likely impact of development upon any archaeological remains or monuments within or adjacent to the development site.
On the basis of this assessment, WYAAS then offers advice to the District's Planning Authority; such advice may in some instances lead to:
- a requirement that the applicant commission a detailed appraisal of available information about a site or area before a planning application is submitted or approved; this is usually referred to as a desk-based assessment;
- a requirement that the applicant commission a field evaluation in the form of a survey or excavation to find out more about a site before a planning application is submitted or approved;
- conditions attached to a planning consent requiring the applicant to commission archaeological investigation and recording before or during development, this is sometimes referred to as rescue excavation or a watching brief;
- refusal of the submission on the ground that the archaeological remains are of sufficient importance to warrant preservation.
Developers are usually expected to bear the burden of any archaeological works required by the Planning Authority. If you are planning a large-scale development it is therefore in your own interests to find out whether there are archaeological implications before submitting an application; you may save time and money, especially as this knowledge may enable you to design the proposal in such a way as to avoid or at least reduce its impact upon archaeological remains.
How do you find out about Archaeology?
The definitive record of archaeological remains and monuments in all five Metropolitan Districts is held and maintained by the WYAAS. By consulting this record (the West Yorkshire Historic Environment Record, or HER) you can find out:
- whether your proposed development would affect the sites or settings of any Scheduled Ancient Monuments which have statutory protection, or other remains which would merit preservation;
- whether it would affect areas requiring archaeological investigation and recording in advance of development;
- whether it includes areas which would warrant archaeological evaluation in advance of determining any planning submission.
As the West Yorkshire HER is updated continually, it is important that consultation should be made for every proposal: the HER's response to your enquiry may be quite different now from a response given some time ago because of new information about a site or a group of remains. The inclusion of a site in the HER gives it formal recognition in the planning process and District Planning Authorities will take account of this in preparing development plans and reaching planning decisions.
What kinds of archaeological remains could you encounter?
The West Yorkshire HER contains thousands of records dealing with the traces of human activity in this region, ranging from the sites of hunting camps occupied ten thousand years ago to Second World War defences; from the ditches marking prehistoric farming landscapes to the domestic, industrial and religious buildings of recent centuries.
Remains can be found on the high moorlands of the Pennines, in the arable fields of the lower Aire and Calder Valleys, and on all types of landscape in between. Some of the old industrial and urban centres contain remains of international as well as national importance.
Sites may be indicated by standing buildings, earthworks, or by buried remains sometimes a few centimetres below the surface in the form of a shallow layer of deposits, or they may be represented by strata several metres deep. The type of remains can range from scatters of pottery fragments and other objects, to the foundations of substantial stone buildings, or timber structures preserved in waterlogged ground.
The policy of both WYAAS and the Local Authority is to ensure that the most important archaeological remains are preserved for the future, and that those of lesser importance are adequately investigated and recorded in advance of destruction. By working with developers, we aim to ensure that the protection of West Yorkshire's heritage and the redevelopment of its economy can both be promoted.
What will it cost to consult the records?
WYAAS will give you an initial response free of charge, indicating the general level of concern.
In certain cases, the nature or scale of the proposed development may necessitate a more detailed analysis and assessment of the HER's records. This would (whether carried out by your agents or by WYAAS) be subject to a scale of charges determined by the West Yorkshire Joint Services Committee. The current levels of charges are available on application.
Staff at WYAAS can advise on:
- how to modify design proposals to reduce their impact on archaeological remains;
- how to satisfy archaeological conditions in planning permissions;
- the identification, conservation, interpretation and presentation of sites;
- opportunities for promoting the archaeological interest of the site;
- the engagement of archaeological consultants and contractors.
Confidentiality will be maintained at all times.
Early consultation may help you to avoid delays and unnecessary expense at a later stage. If you are considering a development, whatever its scale or location please contact WYAAS for further information or an appointment to visit.
Why protect our past?
Our present landscape is the product of changes made by man over the last 10,000 years. This historic landscape with its settlements, fields, woodlands, industries, roads, railways and canals provides the framework in which we live and work. It is one of our richest resources and provides the link between ourselves and the past, explaining our sense of place and belonging. The landscape is our main source of evidence for the development of human culture, religion, society, economy and land use. It is irreplaceable. Archaeology enriches our landscape and contributes to education, recreation and cultural tourism.
Archaeology is concerned with the development of the whole landscape, not merely individual sites within it. The need to conserve historic landscapes is inseparable from the need to protect the countryside and towns in general. The continuing process of renewal in both town and country is unavoidable, necessary and often welcome, but ways must be found of managing change in a way that will allow our children and those who follow to enjoy a past for themselves.