Generic brief for an historic environment assessment and walk over survey

Paragraph 194 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2021) states that where a development may affect heritage assets or has potential to include heritage assets with archaeological interest, the developer should provide an assessment of their significance. This should include any contribution made by their setting.

The level of detail should be proportionate to the assets’ importance and sufficient to understand the potential impact of the development proposal on their significance.

For sites of potential archaeological interest, a field evaluation may also be necessary involving a wide range of survey and investigative techniques, including fieldwalking, geophysical survey and trial trenching.

Advice should be sought from the council Archaeology Service and council Conservation Officers historic environment assessment on the key issues to be addressed in the study. Although such advice should not be taken as exhaustive as the study itself may identify additional issues to be considered.