Planning Policy Statement 5 or PPS5 and its Scottish and Welsh equivalents prompts planning authorities to require archaeological evaluation in support of a planning application where the archaeological potential of a site is unknown. There are a number of evaluative techniques, all of which FAS Heritage offer, including fieldwalking and geophysical survey, but evaluation typically involves the excavation of trial trenches to identify and characterise archaeology which may be present at a site.
FAS Heritage is an experienced provider of trial trench evaluations for large rural areas and also for smaller schemes in urban contexts known to be archaeologically rich. Recent evaluation programmes include a scheme at Byland Abbey, North Yorkshire requiring geophysical survey and trial trenching. Once we have undertaken an evaluation we can liaise with planning authorities to negotiate and design an archaeological mitigation programme for your ongoing project.