Local authorities face some key challenges in the management of the historic environment, with the needs of the present and future putting pressure on considerations for local heritage. A lack of suitable land often results in the development of brownfield sites, and funding challenges mean a lack of budget for regeneration.
However, heritage can be a powerful, cost-effective tool if its potential is unlocked. It can offer significant opportunities for community cohesion, training and developing local skills, and increasing the cultural value of a place to attract visitors and investment.
Managing local heritage assets
Cultural heritage is unique and irreplaceable; it encapsulates local identity and affects where people choose to live, work, visit and invest. We offer a creative, community-led approach to managing local heritage assets.
Working with local authorities and their partner organisations, including local community groups, trusts, public bodies and universities, we can help to design effective community projects that increase the understanding and appreciation of a place.
Services for local authority projects
We offer a range of high-quality services to local authorities, which take a creative and holistic approach. We collaborate with teams from project design phase to identify heritage assets, understand their significance for the area, engage the community, and mitigate risks from any subsequent construction or regeneration work.
Our experienced teams have the capacity to undertake work efficiently and professionally on large-scale sites. Our in-house specialists offer advice and services from start to finish to ensure that you are supported throughout the project cycle.
For initial consultancy advice, click here. To find another archaeological or heritage service follow this link.
Community engagement
As a registered charity, community engagement is at the heart of what we do.
Our charitable aim is to promote the education of the public in science, the arts, culture and heritage through archaeology. We use archaeology as the vehicle to engage communities about these wider concepts, as well as connecting people with their local heritage in a meaningful way.
Our experienced Community & Education team can help to deliver impactful activities and initiatives that leave a meaningful project legacy. This could be through creating public campaigns, working with local schools and community groups to deliver educational material that complements national curriculum requirements, or creating opportunities for volunteering, training and work experience.
We measure engagement through an innovative system developed in-house, where the impact of our activities is graded against a gold-silver-bronze quality marker.
To find out more about our Community & Education services, click here.
What our clients say…
“We’re incredibly proud of the work we have carried out on Wool bridge. Working with professionals from Wessex Archaeology has helped ensure that the appearance of this this much-loved, historic bridge has been restored, and is in-keeping with the Grade II Listed Structure."
Jack Wiltshire, Dorset Highways Contracts Manager, Wool Bridge project
“It was amazing to see the cobbled area that we had excavated and experience what Mary Queen of Scots may have experienced. I had a fantastic time and all the people there were helpful and kind in every possible way. It would be awesome to go back to have another crack at it and see what else has been found.
I learnt that the castle had been covered by so many different things, like Victorian industry, as well as the market and that being an archaeologist uses so much technology.”
Ten-year-old Sheffield Castle project volunteer, James Duncan
To find an archaeological or heritage service follow this link.
