10th June 2005, 03:35 PM
Quote:quote:The management there don't seem to give much of a fig about archaeology at the moment, but are much more concerned with buildings, which look nicer on their endless stream of poxy policy documents...So, I?m not the only one to have spotted this trend. Why is it EH are making big noises about Listed Buildings but I?m hearing B*gger all about Scheduling? I recently heard a rumour that there was pretty much a freeze on scheduling and that designations teams in EH were being told (whether officially or unofficially I cannot say) to give priority to buildings and listings.
I can understand there?s a reluctance for EH to start scheduling things whilst they?re in the process of the designations review but that doesn?t change the fact that some things need protecting NOW and simply shouldn?t wait. Most curators I know can see where the development pressures are, and watch urban fringe development slowing creeping out towards important sites. One site I can think of has bits of it scheduled but other parts (equally as important and well preserved) are not. The scheduling desperately needs re-appraising since someone will almost certainly put a planning application in before long, (e.g. next week or month) but the local authority archaeologist has basically been told to whistle for it.
Is this pretty much the perception of things elsewhere or am I just being over-gloomy?