Archaeological notification areas

These are areas within which there is specific evidence recorded on the Buckinghamshire Historic Environment Record indicating the existence, or probable existence, of heritage assets of archaeological interest. Notification areas will include the immediate archaeological landscape context of a site or monument where this can be defined or inferred by taking account of historical and geological/topographical information but their boundaries must be regarded as ‘soft’, provisional and subject to change in the light of new information or re-interpretation of existing information.

The purpose of the notification maps is to advise local planning authorities and others of areas where archaeological interest will need to be assessed in line with planning policies. However, they are not exclusive - archaeological considerations may be encountered outside notification areas, particularly for larger developments, as the notification maps are necessarily based on a rapid assessment of limited information and cannot take account of as yet undiscovered sites and monuments, for which many areas of Buckinghamshire have a demonstrably high potential. Advice on appropriate treatment of archaeological matters should be obtained from the County Archaeological Service.

Landowners considering Environmental Stewardship may find archaeological notification areas a useful tool to identify additional archaeological sites that may not be on their Farm Environment Record and may allow them to improve their point score. Further advice can be sought from us.