17th June 2008, 02:25 PM
Posted by Oxbeast:
The decision on whether or not a watching brief was required would normally be made by a planning authority on the advice of a curator, not by an archaeological unit. However, even the curator can normally only advise on the decision - it is actually made by a planning officer, not an archaeologist at all, in deciding whether to impose a planning condition.
Even where decisions can be made by an archaeologist, the IFA Standards and Guidance largely regulate how archaeological work is done, not the decisions as to whether it should be done. I am not sure if the new interim standard and guidance on stewardship of historic places would cover this, but it might.
1man1desk
to let, fully furnished
Quote:quote:Someone has mentioned on another thread that there are a couple of pipelines going ahead without watching briefs, on the basis that all the archaeology has been positively identified from the geophysics. I have no idea about this case, but was that decision made by a member, or a member of staff of an RAO? I agree that very serious breaches are not common, but they do happen.It has not been established that there was any breach at all, never mind a serious one. You would have to have a lot of knowledge about the basis of the decision, not just a knee-jerk reaction based on little knowledge.
The decision on whether or not a watching brief was required would normally be made by a planning authority on the advice of a curator, not by an archaeological unit. However, even the curator can normally only advise on the decision - it is actually made by a planning officer, not an archaeologist at all, in deciding whether to impose a planning condition.
Even where decisions can be made by an archaeologist, the IFA Standards and Guidance largely regulate how archaeological work is done, not the decisions as to whether it should be done. I am not sure if the new interim standard and guidance on stewardship of historic places would cover this, but it might.
1man1desk
to let, fully furnished