On the 21 January 2014, Northamptonshire Archaeology transfers from Northamptonshire County Council to MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology). The 50 strong team based in Northampton continues to work closely with clients to assess and investigate the archaeology and built heritage of the area, cost-effectively and speedily, as it has for over 25 years.
MOLA brings with it the combined knowledge of 40 years’ of practise and 200 staff. Experienced in challenging urban, waterfront and infrastructure schemes; MOLA’s expertise is complemented by the Northampton team’s experience in geophysical survey, rural archaeology and residential schemes. Working in collaboration over the past year the benefits of merging the strengths and talents in both organisations is already apparent.
Taryn Nixon, Chief Executive of MOLA, said: “The two organisations have complementary skills, stemming from our different backgrounds, yet have a strong, shared sense of how best to deliver archaeological services to commercial clients in today’s market. Together, we can offer a more resilient and flexible range of services over a wider geographical area, and offer stronger prospects for our staff.”
Steve Parry, Director of MOLA’s Northampton team said: “The two organisations have already gained from successful partnering and we are looking forward to working together on further developing key services such as geophysical assessment, publication and public archaeology”.
Councillor Andre Gonzalez De Savage, Northamptonshire County Council Cabinet Member, said “I am delighted that the transfer has now taken place. Moving forward there will be clear benefits for the archaeology of the area as the expertise of the Northampton team is combined with that of MOLA.”
The changes have come about in response to plans Northamptonshire County Council submitted in 2011 to rehouse its archaeological service, to secure its future stability and growth. MOLA was selected by Northamptonshire County Council in December 2012, through a competitive tender process, as the preferred new home for its archaeology team.
Follow updates from MOLA on the website www.mola.org.uk, on Twitter @MOLArchaeology or on Facebook https://en-gb.facebook.com/MOLArchaeology.
