The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) has provided an update on reactions to the Fenland’s proposals to take archaeology out of planning provisions, as follows:
‘Debate and further reaction has continued to last week’s announcement by Fenland District Council’s Leader, Alan Melton, that the planning authority would remove planning provisions for archaeological investigation.
A letter to The Wisbech Chronicle signed by some of the UK’s most respected archaeologists has been published and was followed by publication of a similar letter in The Times.
In a letter to Fenland District Council, Dr Simon Collcutt of Oxford Archaeological Associates sets out the legal position and points out that: ‘it is simply not within the jurisdiction of Local Authorities, irrespective of whether or not the Localism Bill becomes statute in its current form, to ignore national Planning guidance, existing heritage statute and relevant case law.’
The CBA’s Director, Dr Mike Heyworth, has taken part in an interview with Councillor Melton on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme.’
