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Saturday 12 November 2016

Historic Environment: President's Further Letter to Castle Point Borough Council


The Essex Society for Archaeology & History 

Mr. Steve Rogers, Head of Regeneration and Neighbourhoods, 
Castle Point Borough Council, Council Offices, Kiln Road, 
Thundersley, Benfleet, Essex. SS7 1TF 

11th November 2016 

Your ref: SAR/GF 

Dear Mr. Rogers, 

HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT 

Thank you for your letter of 4th November 2016, setting out Castle Point Borough Council's (CPB) approach to dealing with planning applications which have a potential, or actual, effect on the historic environment. 

It is good to learn that you have a routine in place to deal with these issues. However, whilst the methodology you describe may appear to give day to day effect to the policies in the Local Plan, it seems likely that in practice they will not be particularly effective. It appears that Castle Point has no arrangements to maintain a Historic Environment Record (HER) and relies on gis data derived from the Historic Environment Record (HER). Interpretation is carried out by planning officers, and skilful as they are it is difficult to see, in the absence of specialist advice, how they can effectively ascertain the need for further information, the actions need to acquire it, assess the quality and significance of information received, or the need and nature of mitigation measures. 

Yours sincerely, 

Adrian Corder-Birch, President, 
Essex Society for Archaeology and History 

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