Planning consideration

Area of archaeological importance

Areas designated to protect archaeological remains from being damaged or destroyed

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• Design stage: Backlog
• Tags:
  • local plan
  • heritage
  • constraint
  • policies map

  View a glossary of tags

• Github: Join the discussion
• Synonyms: No synonyms added
• Legislation:
  Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
• Expected number of records: Unknown
• Frequency of updates: Unknown
• Useful links: No useful links added
• Technical specification: No specification added

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Related dataset

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Background information

Each planning consideration we work on passes through the stages of our design process, where we research and answer specific questions to help us collect more information.

Backlog

• Who asked for 'Area of archaeological importance' data?

• What is the driver for the request?

• Which 2024 focus area does the request support?

Screen

• What is the 'Area of archaeological importance' consideration?

  AAIs are formal legal designations under national law, used only in specific historic cities.

  They are rare — only in parts of Canterbury, Chester, Exeter, Hereford, and York

• Is there legislation that defines 'Area of archaeological importance'?

  Yes

  • What is the legislation that defines 'Area of archaeological importance'?

    Defined in law under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979

  • What is the specific part of the legislation that describes how a 'Area of archaeological importance' gets designated?

  • What is the specific part of the legislation that requires the publication of 'Area of archaeological importance'?

• Who, in law, is responsible for the planning consideration or makes decisions about 'Area of archaeological importance'?

  Designated by the Secretary of State

• Which organisations do we think should publish the data?

• Is the Area of archaeological importance a trigger?

• Is the Area of archaeological importance something to consult during plan making?

• Is there any Area of archaeological importance data already available?

• Do we think the data should come from a single source?

• Will a data standard be required?

Research

• Do we understand the lifecycle of a Area of archaeological importance?

• Do we understand how the data is created/produced?

• Where will or should the data be used?

• What other planning considerations does it interact with?

• Who are the statutory consultees for Area of archaeological importance?

• Other than the statutory consultees who are the primary users of Area of archaeological importance? How do we expect them to use Area of archaeological importance?

• What are the planning needs for this data?

  Legal requirement for developers to notify the local authority before carrying out certain works in these areas

• Who are the types of users who might benefit from having access to Area of archaeological importance data?

• What are some potential uses of Area of archaeological importance data?

• What's the value of adding Area of archaeological importance data to the platform?

• From what we have learnt so far are there any risks to making Area of archaeological importance data available?

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1 update

• Claire Miller (26 September 2024)

  As per some research we did, summarised in this blog on an analysis of local plans and local area requirements, we're confident that this consideration acts as an INPUT to the process of creating a local plan.

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Last updated: 2025-06-10 06:56:33