Desk-based assessments (DBA) are documents which are requested by planning authorities to enable them to make fully-informed planning decisions for proposed developments.

Desk-based assessments establish the archaeological and heritage ‘baseline’ for a development site and its environs, assembling information from database inventories (Historic Environment Records and national-level databases), supported by research into historical documents, maps, aerial photographs and remote surveys such as LiDAR.

On the basis of this information, DBAs also predict the ‘archaeological potential’ of a site – in other words the possibility that undiscovered archaeology may be present. Depending on the findings of the DBA, a programme of field work may be implemented in order to enhance the desk-based information.

Our consultants have long-standing expertise in the production of desk-based assessments. We also produce the newer types of assessments that have emerged in recent years. These include Heritage Assessments (for the study of changes to the setting of designated historic assets) and Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA; for the study of historic buildings that will be subject to change or redevelopment).

Our capabilities also extend to a range of other document types, scaled to project needs, from early-stage Appraisals or Feasibility Studies for sites under consideration for development, to fully-fledged Conservation Management Plans for established areas of high heritage significance.