Is Preservation In Situ an Unacceptable Option for Development Control? Can Monitoring Prove the Continued Preservation of Waterlogged Deposits?

Abstract

This paper will outline the approach taken for monitoring of two waterlogged areas in England: the multi-period deposits beneath the historic town of Nantwich, Cheshire, and the Bronze Age timber platform at Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. These two examples allow contrast and comparison between urban and rural contexts, and between multiple ownerships and single development. The projects also illustrate how English planning guidance can be variously interpreted dependent on conflicting aims and objectives. The paper will describe the characteristics of the sites, their past history and present threats, and the suggested management strategies for each. The duration, spatial interval, and methods of monitoring (including use of in situ redox probes, Time Domain Reflectometry, sediment geochemistry, and water-level measurement) will be discussed, and how short-term data-gathering is actually what influences decision-making.