PPG 16
Encyclopedia
Planning Policy Guidance 16: Archaeology and Planning commonly abbreviated as PPG 16, was a document produced by the British Government to advise local planning authorities on the treatment of archaeology
within the planning process. It was introduced in November 1990 following public outcry after a number of high profile scandals such as the threatened destruction of the Rose Theatre
in London
by developers. It replaced the earlier Circular 8/87 which was criticized for being ill-focused in both practical and geographical terms. On 23rd March 2010 the Government published 'Planning Policy Statement 5:Planning and the Historic Environment' replacing and cancelling PPG16 and PPG15 which had dealt with the rest of the historic environment.
in applications for new development. It accepted that development will affect archaeological deposits and that this effect must be mitigated. PPG 16 stressed the importance of the evaluation of a site for its archaeological potential in advance of development in order to inform future management decisions. This evaluation may involve non intrusive methods such as a desk-based study or archaeological geophysics
and/or a more direct method such as trial trenching
.
Following the results of the initial evaluation, PPG 16 offered two solutions for preserving any significant archaeological deposits found to be on a development site. The first, and explicitly preferred, method involves preservation in situ whereby the archaeology is left untouched beneath a new development through methods such as adaptation of foundation design and architectural layout of the proposed new development, or by raising the level of the development with made ground so that its foundations do not reach the archaeological horizon. Where nationally important remains are encountered this method of preservation is strongly preferred.
If preservation in situ is not feasible then PPG 16 permitted preservation by record. This involved archaeological fieldwork to excavate and record finds and features (thereby destroying them). This may involve a full excavation, further trenching in specific areas or an archaeological watching brief
which involves an archaeologist monitoring groundworks for the new development and recording any finds or features revealed as construction continues.
principle, although this is not made explicit in the document itself. The work is intended to be undertaken in advance of any planning consent being granted but often happens to satisfy a planning condition
placed on an application for development, that is once the principle of development on the land has already been established.
Because of the potential for destruction of significant remains, PPG 16 prefers evaluation to take place in advance of any planning decision being made. A developer tenders for the work to be done and chooses an archaeological organization to retain. The work is monitored by a curator, normally the County Archaeologist
, who is nominated by the local planning authority as an adviser and who also identifies sites where archaeology might be threatened by development. Following submission of a satisfactory site report and demonstration that a site's archaeological potential has been properly safeguarded and/or recorded, the curator will usually advise that development can continue.
Curators maintain a Sites and Monuments Record
or SMR, a database of known archaeological sites which is often used to inform decisions on archaeological potential. Areas of archaeological potential
are often drawn on GIS
maps which can indicate any potentially damaging development automatically.
PPG 16 has resulted in an explosion in archaeological fieldwork in the UK. Developer funding has led to dozens of archaeological organizations competing for work along with archaeological consultants working for developers to oversee projects. This has contributed to the growing professionalization of archaeology from its more ad hoc earlier incarnation as Rescue archaeology
. Also, a wider variety of archaeological methods are now employed including surveys of large areas for the purposes of Historic Landscape Characterisation
, deposit model
s and the production of regional archaeological research agendas.
PPG 16 was only guidance to planners and did not have the full force of law. Its precepts could only be enforced through the Town and Country Planning Act
and ultimate decisions on its implementation rested with the Secretary of State
. However, without full legal status it lacked the power and reach of measures safeguarding similar environmental issues which are enshrined in law, such as those concerning endangered species
.
, especially following the publication of the de facto guidance manual for UK developer-led archaeology, English Heritage
's Management of Archaeological Projects (1991), popularly known as MAP 2. This stresses the importance of evaluation, documentation and decision-making at each stage of a project based on empirical evidence and valid hypotheses.
. As of 2004 both documents are proposed to be combined into a single piece of guidance called a Planning Policy Statement
.
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
within the planning process. It was introduced in November 1990 following public outcry after a number of high profile scandals such as the threatened destruction of the Rose Theatre
The Rose (theatre)
The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. It was the fourth of the public theatres to be built, after The Theatre , the Curtain , and the theatre at Newington Butts The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. It was the fourth of the public theatres to be built, after The Theatre (1576), the Curtain (1577),...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by developers. It replaced the earlier Circular 8/87 which was criticized for being ill-focused in both practical and geographical terms. On 23rd March 2010 the Government published 'Planning Policy Statement 5:Planning and the Historic Environment' replacing and cancelling PPG16 and PPG15 which had dealt with the rest of the historic environment.
What PPG 16 says
The document advised that archaeological remains are a finite and irreplaceable resource and that their presence should be a material considerationMaterial consideration
A material consideration in the UK is a process in Planning Law in which the decision maker when assessing an application for development must consider in deciding the outcome of an application....
in applications for new development. It accepted that development will affect archaeological deposits and that this effect must be mitigated. PPG 16 stressed the importance of the evaluation of a site for its archaeological potential in advance of development in order to inform future management decisions. This evaluation may involve non intrusive methods such as a desk-based study or archaeological geophysics
Archaeological geophysics
Geophysical survey in archaeology most often refers to ground-based physical sensing techniques used for archaeological imaging or mapping. Remote sensing and marine surveys are also used in archaeology, but are generally considered separate disciplines...
and/or a more direct method such as trial trenching
Trial trenching
Trial trenching is a rapid and inexpensive method of archaeological evaluation used to estimate the archaeological potential of a site.Trenches are located at intervals across a site leaving the rest untouched. A mechanical excavator is used to dig down to archaeological features or natural...
.
Following the results of the initial evaluation, PPG 16 offered two solutions for preserving any significant archaeological deposits found to be on a development site. The first, and explicitly preferred, method involves preservation in situ whereby the archaeology is left untouched beneath a new development through methods such as adaptation of foundation design and architectural layout of the proposed new development, or by raising the level of the development with made ground so that its foundations do not reach the archaeological horizon. Where nationally important remains are encountered this method of preservation is strongly preferred.
If preservation in situ is not feasible then PPG 16 permitted preservation by record. This involved archaeological fieldwork to excavate and record finds and features (thereby destroying them). This may involve a full excavation, further trenching in specific areas or an archaeological watching brief
Watching brief
In British archaeology a Watching Brief is a method of preserving archaeological remains by record in the face of development threat. An archaeologist is employed by the developer to monitor the excavation of foundation and service trenches, landscaping and any other intrusive work...
which involves an archaeologist monitoring groundworks for the new development and recording any finds or features revealed as construction continues.
PPG 16 in practice
All forms of archaeological investigation undertaken through PPG 16 are funded by the developer through an extension of the Polluter PaysPolluter pays principle
In environmental law, the polluter pays principle is enacted to make the party responsible for producing pollution responsible for paying for the damage done to the natural environment. It is regarded as a regional custom because of the strong support it has received in most Organisation for...
principle, although this is not made explicit in the document itself. The work is intended to be undertaken in advance of any planning consent being granted but often happens to satisfy a planning condition
Planning condition
In the United Kingdom a planning condition is a condition placed on grants of planning permission by local planning authorities. Such conditions permit development to go ahead only if certain conditions are satisfied. Conditions include time limits on development, undertakings regarding...
placed on an application for development, that is once the principle of development on the land has already been established.
Because of the potential for destruction of significant remains, PPG 16 prefers evaluation to take place in advance of any planning decision being made. A developer tenders for the work to be done and chooses an archaeological organization to retain. The work is monitored by a curator, normally the County Archaeologist
County Archaeologist
A County Archaeologist is a local government employee in the United Kingdom with responsibility for overseeing development-led archaeological investigations required by PPG16...
, who is nominated by the local planning authority as an adviser and who also identifies sites where archaeology might be threatened by development. Following submission of a satisfactory site report and demonstration that a site's archaeological potential has been properly safeguarded and/or recorded, the curator will usually advise that development can continue.
Curators maintain a Sites and Monuments Record
Sites and Monuments Record
Each County or Unitary Authority in the United Kingdom maintains a Sites and Monuments Record or SMR, consisting of a list of known archaeological sites. Many SMRs are now developing into much broader Historic Environment Records , including information on historic buildings and designed landscapes...
or SMR, a database of known archaeological sites which is often used to inform decisions on archaeological potential. Areas of archaeological potential
Area of archaeological potential
Areas of Archaeological Potential and other terms such as Area of High Archaeological Potential or Urban Archaeological Zone are terms used to identify parts of the country where it is known that buried archaeology is likely to survive...
are often drawn on GIS
Geographic Information System
A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
maps which can indicate any potentially damaging development automatically.
PPG 16 has resulted in an explosion in archaeological fieldwork in the UK. Developer funding has led to dozens of archaeological organizations competing for work along with archaeological consultants working for developers to oversee projects. This has contributed to the growing professionalization of archaeology from its more ad hoc earlier incarnation as Rescue archaeology
Rescue archaeology
Rescue archaeology, sometimes called "preventive" or "salvage" archaeology, is archaeological survey and excavation carried out in areas threatened by, or revealed by, construction or other development...
. Also, a wider variety of archaeological methods are now employed including surveys of large areas for the purposes of Historic Landscape Characterisation
Historic landscape characterisation
Historic landscape characterisation is a programme initiated by English Heritage to increase understanding of the wider designed landscape, beyond that of the planned parkland of the country estate. Similar programmes operate in Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, although different...
, deposit model
Deposit model
In the field of archaeology a deposit model is a method of identifying the character and degree of survival of buried archaeological remains over a specified area without necessarily excavating the whole area....
s and the production of regional archaeological research agendas.
Criticism of PPG 16 and its effects
Critics of PPG 16 argue that the commercialization of UK archaeology has resulted in more work of lower quality being undertaken, and that a shortage of county archaeologists to monitor this work allows consultants to exploit the situation. In recent years prices have been driven down by competing consultants who have unethical arrangements with archaeological contractors, who rather than performing the same job for a lower cost (as in true competitive tendering) are able to do a worse job. The increased volume of work has led to a backlog of unpublished site reports and homeless site archives awaiting resolution. The competition for work amongst archaeologists, and the fact that the developers funding them see no real use for their final product, also tends to drive prices down meaning that wages and conditions for archaeologists in the UK are generally far below the national average for equivalent professions with comparable levels of education. The irony is that the cost of this unworthy body of work borne by the construction industry benefits nobody but the consultants who have something to "mitigate" on behalf of their clients in the construction industry.PPG 16 was only guidance to planners and did not have the full force of law. Its precepts could only be enforced through the Town and Country Planning Act
Town and Country Planning Act 1947
The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom passed by the post-war Labour government...
and ultimate decisions on its implementation rested with the Secretary of State
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, is a Cabinet position heading the UK's Department for Communities and Local Government....
. However, without full legal status it lacked the power and reach of measures safeguarding similar environmental issues which are enshrined in law, such as those concerning endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
.
The theory of PPG 16
Theoretically, the philosophical approach of PPG 16 was strongly based on processualismProcessual archaeology
Processual archaeology is a form of archaeological theory that had its genesis in 1958 with Willey and Phillips' work Method and Theory in American Archeology, in which the pair stated that "American archaeology is anthropology or it is nothing" , a rephrasing of Frederic William Maitland's...
, especially following the publication of the de facto guidance manual for UK developer-led archaeology, English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
's Management of Archaeological Projects (1991), popularly known as MAP 2. This stresses the importance of evaluation, documentation and decision-making at each stage of a project based on empirical evidence and valid hypotheses.
Associated guidance and the future
A similar, though less stringent, guideline to PPG 16 exists for historic buildings and the wider historic environment called PPG 15PPG 15
PPG 15 is short for Planning Policy Guidance 15: Planning and the Historic Environment, a document produced by the British Government to advise local planning authorities on the treatment of historic buildings and the wider historic environment within the planning process...
. As of 2004 both documents are proposed to be combined into a single piece of guidance called a Planning Policy Statement
Planning Policy Statements
In the United Kingdom, Planning Policy Statements are statements of the British Government's national policy and principles towards certain aspects of the town planning framework. They apply to England only...
.
See also
- Planning Policy Guidance NotesPlanning Policy Guidance NotesIn the United Kingdom, Planning Policy Guidance Notes are statements of the Government's national policy and principles towards certain aspects of the town planning framework. They apply to England only...
- Town and country planning in the United KingdomTown and country planning in the United KingdomTown and Country Planning is the land use planning system governments use to balance economic development and environmental quality. Each country of the United Kingdom has its own planning system that is responsible for town and country planning devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the...
External links
- Planning Policy Guidance 16 at the Communities and Local Government website