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PROFESSIONAL HERITAGE SERVICES

A major provider of high quality, client focused heritage services since 1993

  • Seven office locations across the UK

  • Experience in a wide range of development sectors including: housing, infrastructure, renewables, quarries, commercial, education, hospitals

  • More than 25 years of delivering high quality & client-focused heritage services

  • Strong track record of successfully discharging archaeological conditions

  • Dedicated and experienced managers in all offices

  • Professionally accredited

Call us on 020 7732 3925 or complete the form to discuss a strategy plan for your heritage requirements.

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Which services do you require?

EARLY ADVICE WILL SAVE TIME AND MONEY

Our flexible approach allows us to offer a unique package designed to meet the specific requirements of each project.

Whatever your construction-related archaeological needs, from small redevelopments to large infrastructure projects, we can help.

The key to managing heritage risk is to consider its implications as early as possible in the development process.

We will investigate whether you are likely to have any issues, and if so, what steps you need to take next.

These may include:

PRE-PLANNING HERITAGE ADVICE:

  • EIA Contributions (Environmental Statements)

  • Pre-acquisition Surveys

  • Rapid Site Appraisals

  • Feasibility Studies

  • Heritage Statements

  • Desk-Based Assessments

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS:

  • CAD and Graphical Services

  • Photographic and UAS (Drone) Survey

  • Artefact Analysis

  • GIS

ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELDWORK:

  • Evaluation

  • Excavation

  • Monitoring and Recording (Watching Brief)

  • Strip Map Record Exercises

  • Geoarchaeological Investigations

  • Archaeological and Landscape Survey

HISTORIC BUILDINGS & LANDSCAPES:

  • Historic Building Fabric and Materials Analysis

  • Conservation Area Appraisals

  • Historic Building Assessments

  • Building Recording

PRE-CONSTRUCT ARCHAEOLOGY

We are committed to guiding our clients from the early stages of the development process, through planning consent to the discharge of relevant planning conditions. We undertake all negotiation with the Archaeological Advisors to Local Authorities and national bodies such as Historic England and CADW on behalf of our clients, to ensure that our clients’ requirements are fairly represented.

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE HERITAGE STRATEGY PLAN

PRE-PLANNING HERITAGE ADVICE

We recommend the early consultation approach because it enables our clients to:

  • Gain a detailed understanding of a site’s heritage issues and implications
  • Reduce or even remove a site’s heritage risk – for example, through foundation redesign
  • Make suitable provision for heritage risk in their budgets and programme
  • Maintain control of the programme and cost of heritage
  • Gain control over a site’s heritage issues and negotiate on an equal footing with the Local Planning Authority

PRE-PLANNING SERVICES INCLUDE:

Desk-Based Heritage Assessments

Desk Based Assessments are commissioned by our clients in support of their planning application or as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment. They can also be used as confidential documents to determine the level of heritage risk upon a site prior to land-purchase or during master planning.

The objective of the Assessment is to provide sufficient information concerning the level of risk that heritage poses to a development and to provide recommendations for dealing with it.

Input into EIAs

We produce numerous Heritage Environmental Statement chapters as part of the EIA process and can readily enhance your team by providing a heritage specialist as required.

An archaeological or cultural heritage chapter for Environmental Statements (ES) relies on the findings of the supporting baseline desk-based assessment, any non-intrusive surveys, for example geophysics to determine the levels of archaeological potential on a site and the impact and effects that the proposed development will have on the heritage resource.

Rapid Site Appraisals

Rapid Site Appraisal does exactly as described; a rapid assessment of the archaeological and built heritage risk of a possible development site. This document is produced quickly, providing our client with an understanding of the heritage risks that could potentially affect a possible development site.

They are not as detailed as Desk-Based Assessments and, therefore, are not suitable for supporting a planning application. They are useful in determining the heritage risks when considering land purchase or sale.

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE HERITAGE STRATEGY PLAN

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE INVESTIGATION

We assess the level of archaeological risk through both non-invasive techniques and field work including:

Evaluation

Archaeological evaluation is the rapid determination of the presence or absence, nature and extent of archaeological remains on a site.
An evaluation can consist of non-intrusive techniques such as landscape or geophysical survey, but more often takes the form of trial trenching across the footprint of the proposed redevelopment.

Whatever the method of evaluation, Pre-Construct Archaeology can negotiate, design, undertake and manage a suitable evaluation strategy on behalf of our clients.

The results of the evaluations are used to advise the planning authority on the character, extent and importance of archaeological remains. As such, it is crucial that developers can trust the ability and experience of the organisation undertaking this type of work.

Excavation

An archaeological excavation is usually undertaken as a condition of planning consent, when significant archaeological remains have been shown to exist through archaeological evaluation.

These works can be the most costly and disruptive interventions to a development programme if not properly planned and managed. Excavation is undertaken in accordance with a Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI), a document produced by PCA on our clients’ behalf, and agreed with the Local Planning Authority (LPA).

The intention of an excavation is to preserve all or most of the archaeological remains by record. As part of a project team, PCA will liaise with our client and other project team members to reduce the time we spend on site and negotiate with the LPA the parameters of fieldwork to determine a suitable mitigation strategy.

Watching Brief

Monitoring and Recording (Watching Brief) involves the monitoring of ground works by a professional archaeologist. If or when archaeological deposits are observed, the archaeologist will request a period for adequate recording of such remains.

It is the intention that disruption to the ground works should be avoided as much as possible, for instance by the archaeologist accessing the areas during quiet periods or by the plant moving to another area of site. Cooperation is often the key during Watching Briefs.

Outside of the planning framework, Watching Briefs on geotechnical investigations often provide qualitative information of the extent of modern disturbance and the nature and extent of surviving archaeological deposits. This is a useful tool in understanding the ground conditions of a site prior to the development commencing.

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE HERITAGE STRATEGY PLAN

SURVEYING SERVICES

Our team of skilled surveyors, with mapping and graphics specialist support, provide a full service from data capture and processing to presentation and interpretation

  • Advice on recording methodologies for different site-types and levels of recording
  • Measured survey (TST/GNSS/Laser scanning)
  • Analytical earthwork survey
  • Geospatial imaging
  • LiDAR and laser scan point-cloud data processing and visualisations
  • Landscape investigation of sites, monuments and landscapes from rapid assessment to detailed field survey, analysis and interpretation

Landscape Surveys

Survey work may be required in response to the recommendations of a Conservation Management Plan, Environmental Impact Assessment or Historic Landscape Assessment. It is also used for the recording, analysis and interpretation of historic sites, landscapes, buildings and monuments. Survey is essential in providing the knowledge and understanding required for making effective management decisions.

Topographic, contour and landscape surveys can be supplemented by a range of geophysical techniques, such as resistivity, magnetic susceptibility or ground penetrating radar, which are predictive tools designed to investigate below ground level.

Types of survey undertaken by PCA are site set-up and recording, topographical survey, earthwork survey, building recording and landscape assessment. PCA’s team are equipped with the latest technology in survey instruments and software.

Examples of our Surveys

  • Topographical survey to provide a geographical context, aid understanding and interpretation of a site or its components’ location;
    Urban townscape assessment and recording
  • Parkland surveys to understand the development of the park and record earlier activity in the form of deserted settlements and agricultural vestiges
  • Large scale recording providing full detail and analysis of earthwork features
  • Archaeological survey of gardens to record extant and lost features and identify past phases in the garden’s development
  • Small scale recording and rapid assessments of large areas of landscape
  • Integration of features into their landscape, working with the building recording and photography teams

The results can be provided as raw or processed data, as CAD drawings or as part of a GIS.

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE HERITAGE STRATEGY PLAN

BUILT HERITAGE SERVICES

Our Historic Buildings Team provides a range of integrated services to enable clients to develop and refurbish properties efficiently and economically

Our services include:

  • Conservation Area Appraisal

  • Heritage Statement

  • Area Assessment – a rapid, mostly desk based assessment, looking at the historic development of an area, with a brief examination of the buildings, features and their setting

  • Building Assessment – focuses on a specific building, defining its architectural or historic interest, and thereby indicating which elements of a building are more and less sensitive to alteration

  • Conservation Plans – the long-term management of historic buildings and areas requires a thorough understanding of the historic development and importance of the resource and its component parts and materials

  • Building Recording – a detailed archaeological record of a building, group of buildings or landscape is often specified as a condition of Listed Building Consent, Conservation Area Consent or Planning Consent

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE HERITAGE STRATEGY PLAN

GRAPHICS & PHOTOGRAPHY

Our flexible & efficient graphics department

can provide many kinds of illustrative​ ​material​ ​including​ ​drawings​ ​to accompany​ ​the​ ​shortest​ ​reports,​ ​glossy​ ​publications​ ​and​ ​display​ ​materials. Artistic reconstructions based on excavated evidence are also part of the service we can provide.

Our​ ​team​ ​uses​ ​Geographic​ ​Information​ ​Systems​ ​(GIS)​ ​and​ ​Computer Aided​ ​Design​ ​(CAD)​ ​for​ ​research​ ​and​ ​report illustrations.​ ​GIS​ ​is​ ​used​ ​for​ ​spatial​ ​and chronological​ ​analysis​ ​of​ ​archaeological​ ​and​ ​landscape​ ​data.​ ​CAD​ ​is​ ​used​ ​for​ ​all types​ ​of​ ​mapping,​ ​technical​ ​drawings,​ ​report​ ​illustrations,​ ​publication​ ​drawings​ ​and standing​ ​building​ ​surveys.

We endeavour to facilitate the exchange of graphical information with our clients at all stages of a project, in the format most useful to them. Our finds illustrators are all either experienced archaeologists or draughts people, who use both manual and digital illustration techniques.

Photography is an invaluable part of the record

Photographic images are an invaluable part of the excavation recording system, post-excavation reports and publications. We record images of every aspect of the archaeological process using 35mm, medium format and digital cameras.

Working​ ​in​ the field,​ ​we​ ​can​ ​provide​ ​a​ ​range​ ​of services​ ​including​ ​aerial photography of archaeological landscapes, in situ archaeological features and deposits and standing buildings for built heritage In the studio, we provide rectified​ ​photography,​ ​digital​ ​manipulation​ ​and​ ​accurate​ ​recording of finds, such as jewellery, pottery, tools and other artefacts using​ ​macro​ ​photography.

OFF-SITE SERVICES

The work undertaken here, while largely unseen by our clients, is vital to the successful completion of our projects

It is during the post-excavation process that we:

  • Catalogue the material generated in the field
  • Wash and process the finds ready for specialist assessment
  • Analyse the information produced during fieldwork
  • Produce the archaeological archive
We deal with large quantities of artefacts spanning all eras from prehistoric to modern; materials include building materials, pottery, glass, flint tools, leather, coins and jewellery.
These are all dealt with by in-house specialists. Once the analysis is complete, a report is issued for publication. We use a broad range of outlets including:
  • Our own Monograph series
  • Local interest magazines
  • National and local academic journals