§ Lord Norrieasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have now completed their consideration of English Heritage's advice on the effectiveness of Part II of the 1979 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 (Archaeological Areas).
§ Lord HeskethWe have considered English Heritage's advice on the operation and effectiveness of Areas of Archaeological Importance (AAIs) in the light of the likely impact of the department's planning policy guidance note (PPG) on archaeology and planning. We are currently considering the 200 or so responses to the draft guidance note and expect to publish final guidance within the next few months.
English Heritage have advised us that no further AAIs should be designated at present but that it would be premature to take decisions on the future use of the existing statutory provisions until the impact of the department's forthcoming planning policy guidance note on archaeology and planning has been assessed.
The provisions of Part II of the 1979 Act are broadly intended to help prevent important archaeological sites being damaged or destroyed without there first being an opportunity for archaeological investigation and recording. By contrast, the draft PPG places archaeology more firmly in the planning process with its message to developers and local planning authorities to consider before submitting planning applications the possible existence of archaeological remains on site and the desirability of preserving them. This guidance will apply across the country, whereas AAI's must be limited to specified areas.
In the circumstances, we have concluded, in agreement with English Heritage advice, that it would be sensible to allow time for the impact of the PPG to be assessed before considering further the role of AAIs. We therefore intend to review the position with regard to AAIs 12 months after publication of the PPG, by which time we can begin to form a judgment on the effectiveness of the forthcoming PPG.