Policy BH5 – Archaeology

The council will seek to conserve and protect and where possible enhance archaeological assets and consent will normally only be granted where the following criteria are met: a. Archaeological remains of regional importance and their settings will be preserved in situ and development that would adversely affect sites or their setting will not be permitted unless there are exceptional circumstances. Archaeological remains of regional importance and their settings include monuments in state care, scheduled monuments and other important sites and monuments which would merit scheduling; b. Development proposals which would adversely affect archaeological sites or monuments which are of local importance or their settings will only be permitted where the council considers the importance of the proposed development or other material considerations outweigh the value of the remains in question; c. Where the impact of a development proposal on important archaeological remains is unclear, or the relative importance of such remains is uncertain, the council will normally require developers to provide further information in the form of an archaeological assessment or an archaeological evaluation. Where such information is requested but not made available the council will normally refuse planning permission; and d. Where it is decided to grant planning permission for development which will affect sites known to contain archaeological remains, the council will impose conditions to ensure that appropriate measures are taken for the identification and mitigation of the archaeological impacts of the development, including where appropriate the completion of a licensed excavation and recording of remains before development commences.