Ian Adams
Active member
Ignorance of the law is no defence, right?
The recent opening of a new cave entrance at Twll Du highlighted a rather obvious problem ? how does a person know to check for something if they don?t know they need to check for something?
It caught out the club I am a member of where a landowner gave us permission to dig and, unknown to us, the land was SSSI. We received a visit from the police (seeking to prosecute us, not the landowner). Ultimately it was amicably resolved. But it never should have happened, right again?
It seems evident from the chain of events that the Twll Du pioneers had no idea it was on the site of an ancient monument (or within a buffer ? whatever that means). Prior to this ?trouble? I would never have thought to check because I would never have considered such a thing. In this case, I would have found myself face-to-face with another police officer.
To be very blunt, it peeves me that ?we? can be prosecuted for something that we could not know and could not have known. How would an ordinary person even know to check for such a thing? I consider the legislation that precludes ignorance in these cases to be iniquitous.
Before you jump to any conclusions, how many people know of the existence of ALL the various bodies that you should consult with beforehand? I would be impressed if it is more than a small handful among us. I certainly don't.
I came across rather a neat little list of such ?bodies? (or authorities). I am not the author; it belongs to an archaeological group. They use it whenever they visit any new sites.
Although the list isn't exhaustive, I think it may well be complete and certainly I think it is useful information that we might all benefit from. It ought, at least, to keep Mr Policeman away.
Obviously, it would be helpful to add anything missing and/or remove anything now redundant (or not applicable to caves/mines).
I thought it would be good to share it ?.
Ian
Checklist of potential responsibilities;
? Landowner Permission
? Confirmation that the land is owned in ?Fee Simple?
? Any restrictive covenants
? Any SSSI classifications
? Any AONB classifications
? Any existing planning permissions, restrictions or conditions
? Is the site part of a protected landscape area (PLA)
? Is the site within a conservation area
? Any scheduled monuments within the land ownership
? Any restrictions on land exploration by the water authority, Woodland Trust, PAWS, DEFRA, Welsh Government Agricultural department, CADW, The County Council, The Forestry
The recent opening of a new cave entrance at Twll Du highlighted a rather obvious problem ? how does a person know to check for something if they don?t know they need to check for something?
It caught out the club I am a member of where a landowner gave us permission to dig and, unknown to us, the land was SSSI. We received a visit from the police (seeking to prosecute us, not the landowner). Ultimately it was amicably resolved. But it never should have happened, right again?
It seems evident from the chain of events that the Twll Du pioneers had no idea it was on the site of an ancient monument (or within a buffer ? whatever that means). Prior to this ?trouble? I would never have thought to check because I would never have considered such a thing. In this case, I would have found myself face-to-face with another police officer.
To be very blunt, it peeves me that ?we? can be prosecuted for something that we could not know and could not have known. How would an ordinary person even know to check for such a thing? I consider the legislation that precludes ignorance in these cases to be iniquitous.
Before you jump to any conclusions, how many people know of the existence of ALL the various bodies that you should consult with beforehand? I would be impressed if it is more than a small handful among us. I certainly don't.
I came across rather a neat little list of such ?bodies? (or authorities). I am not the author; it belongs to an archaeological group. They use it whenever they visit any new sites.
Although the list isn't exhaustive, I think it may well be complete and certainly I think it is useful information that we might all benefit from. It ought, at least, to keep Mr Policeman away.
Obviously, it would be helpful to add anything missing and/or remove anything now redundant (or not applicable to caves/mines).
I thought it would be good to share it ?.
Ian
Checklist of potential responsibilities;
? Landowner Permission
? Confirmation that the land is owned in ?Fee Simple?
? Any restrictive covenants
? Any SSSI classifications
? Any AONB classifications
? Any existing planning permissions, restrictions or conditions
? Is the site part of a protected landscape area (PLA)
? Is the site within a conservation area
? Any scheduled monuments within the land ownership
? Any restrictions on land exploration by the water authority, Woodland Trust, PAWS, DEFRA, Welsh Government Agricultural department, CADW, The County Council, The Forestry