Development management advice

We provide a range of archaeological advice. We work to enhance, conserve and protect archaeological sites and features throughout County Durham and the Borough of Darlington.

Guidance documents

We have updated and added to our range of guidance documents. These versions fully replace any previous versions.

Guidance for developers (PDF, 171 KB) - our guide to what archaeological implications a planning application may have, and the process for how this is dealt with (Version 4.2, April 2025).
Desk Based Assessment advice note (PDF, 186 KB) - our guidance regarding the production of desk based assessments as part of the planning process (Version 4.2, April 2025).
Standards for Archaeological Work in County Durham and Darlington (PDF, 808 KB) - our guidance for the standards we expect archaeological contractors to adhere to when working in our area (Version 7.2, April 2025). We will ask for proof of Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment (MoRPHE) compliance in Written Schemes of Investigation (WSI). WSI's without this proof will be rejected. Please Contact Archaeology for more details.
Written Schemes of Investigation guidance (PDF, 222 KB) - changes to the production of WSIs for archaeological work, building on our standards document (Version 4.1, April 2025).
Building Record Standard (PDF, 297 KB) - a draft standard for Building Recording Projects, similar to our archaeological work standards (Version 6.2, April 2025).

Who we advise

We mainly give advice related to planning applications, but also give advice on utility schemes like water pipelines, on forestry planting schemes, and to farmers and landowners as part of agri-environment schemes. We give advice to:

planners in our planning department, as well as at Darlington Borough Council
developers
homeowners
members of the public
government and non-government agencies such as the Forestry Commission and Natural England
utility companies
farmers and land managers

What we do

We advise on all sorts of proposals such as for new forestry, land use changes, new pipelines, planning applications or any other scheme that will have ground impacts. We assess the proposals against the Historic Environment Record (HER) to determine potential impacts on any archaeology in that area.

The HER is a database of all known archaeological sites, excavations and listed buildings and other heritage assets such as registered battlefields, parks and gardens, etc, in County Durham and the Borough of Darlington. Once we have established that the proposals may have an impact on known or potential archaeological remains, we will make a recommendation to the relevant authority or proposer on what needs to happen.

Advice varies based on the type of scheme (forestry advice is different to advice for a planning application, for example) and also on the impacts of the scheme (a new housing estate will lead to different advice than one or two new houses, for example). Advice will vary from no objection, through to the need to archaeological works, or in very rare cases, that the proposal should not go ahead.

We always recommend that people contact us as early as possible in their plans, so they can plan in any archaeological requirements in the most cost effective way.