Our Services
Pre-Planning & Consultation
Navigating the Past, Securing Your Future:
At Pre-Planning & Consultancy, we bridge the gap between heritage conservation and modern development. For many developers, the word "archaeology" can feel like a potential bottleneck. We change that narrative by providing expert, proactive management that identifies risks early, satisfying planning authorities while keeping your project on track.
Think of us as your heritage navigators. We don’t just find history; we manage the process so that history doesn't manage your budget.
Our Core Services
We provide a full suite of archaeological services designed to satisfy National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requirements and local authority conditions.
Why Choose a Consultancy-First Approach?
Most archaeological issues arise from a lack of early communication. By integrating Pre-Planning & Consultancy at the start of your design phase, you gain:
Risk Mitigation: We identify "red flags" early, allowing for foundation redesigns that can avoid costly excavations.
Cost Control: We ensure you aren't paying for more archaeological work than the planning authority actually requires.
Expert Liaison: We speak the language of both developers and curators, negotiating the best possible outcome for your site.
Expert Guidance for Every Scale
Whether you are a homeowner planning an extension in a sensitive area or a commercial developer managing a multi-phase site, we provide the same level of precision and pragmatic advice.
Don't let the past catch you by surprise. Contact us today to discuss your site’s requirements.
Evaluation & Fieldwork
From Groundwork to Discovery:
Once the initial desk-based research is complete, the planning process often moves from the desk to the dirt. At Pre-Planning & Consultancy, our Evaluation & Fieldwork services provide the physical evidence required by planning authorities. We focus on efficiency, ensuring that any archaeological remains are professionally managed without causing unnecessary delays to your construction schedule.
Our Fieldwork Solutions
We manage a range of on-site investigations, from non-intrusive surveys to full-scale excavations.
A Streamlined Path to Construction
Fieldwork is the most visible part of the heritage process. We prioritize clarity and communication to keep your project on track:
Strategic Sampling: We negotiate with local authorities to ensure trenching and surveying are targeted, reducing your plant hire and backfilling costs.
Rapid Reporting: Data gathered in the field is processed quickly, providing the interim reports needed to clear planning conditions.
Pragmatic Problem Solving: If significant archaeology is found, we work with your everyone involved to find and design solutions - In rare circumstances to build around the history rather than through it.
Professional Standards, Practical Results
All our fieldwork, including metal detecting, is conducted to Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) standards. We ensure the data collected is legally robust, giving you total peace of mind that your heritage obligations are fully met.
Ready to start on-site? Let us manage the ground investigation so you can focus on the build.
Post-Excavation & Reporting
From Site to Archive:
The physical dig is only half the story. Once fieldwork is complete, the "preservation by record" process begins. At Pre-Planning & Consultancy, our Post-Excavation services transform raw field data, soil samples, and artifacts into a professional technical report. This final stage is crucial: it is the primary evidence used to formally "discharge" your planning conditions, allowing your development to proceed without further archaeological obligation.
Our Post-Excavation Workflow
We manage the transition from the muddy reality of the site to the refined data required by heritage archives.
Closing the Loop on Your Planning Conditions
A successful excavation is only as good as the report that follows it. We focus on speed and accuracy to ensure your paperwork doesn't lag behind your construction:
Phased Reporting: For larger projects, we can provide "Assessment Reports" quickly, giving the planning office enough confidence to allow work to continue while the full analysis is finalized.
Specialist Liaison: We manage a network of experts—from osteologists (bone specialists) to numismatists (coin experts)—ensuring every find is analyzed by the right person at the right price.
Archiving: We handle the long-term deposition of artifacts and digital records with local museums and the Archaeology Data Service (ADS), ensuring you meet all legal and ethical requirements for heritage preservation.
Why Quality Reporting Matters
A poorly written or delayed report can stall a project's final sign-off. By choosing Pre-Planning & Consultancy, you benefit from:
Direct Negotiation: We present findings to County Archaeologists in a way that emphasizes the successful mitigation of the site.
Professional Integrity: Our reports are produced to CIfA standards, ensuring they are accepted by local authorities without the need for costly revisions.
Clear Communication: We cut through the academic jargon to give you a clear executive summary of what was found and, more importantly, what it means for your development.
The dig is done, but the record remains. Let us handle the data so you can complete the build.
Museum and Heritage Consultancy
A Decade of Impactful Delivery
HA&H is a dual-focus consultancy and archaeology company. We don’t just offer advice; we deliver bespoke, award-winning projects that live and breathe in the real world. Our team has a proven track record of developing and managing capital, operational, and programming projects for a diverse range of funders and partners, including:
The National Lottery Heritage & Community Funds
Museums Galleries Scotland
The Scottish Government & Gannochy Trust
Because we have spent years on the "front line" of heritage work—managing sites and leading volunteers—we are acutely aware of the practical limitations and opportunities within the sector. We are realistic, offering only what is truly deliverable, and we excel at turning logistical challenges into creative opportunities.
Heritage for Everyone: Social Integration & Wellbeing
What defines HA&H is our belief that heritage belongs to everyone. We specialize in using the past to address modern social challenges, fostering confidence and competence through engagement with the land and its history.
Our key partnerships include:
Integration & Shared Stories: Working with the UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration and the Maryhill Integration Network, we use prehistory and traditional practices to celebrate shared heritage and sustainable living.
Trauma & Mental Health Aftercare: In collaboration with Perth Women’s Aid and the Glasgow Association for Mental Health, we facilitate heritage-led nature engagement and work experience placements to support recovery and confidence.
Education & Skills: Our work with schools has been hailed as best practice by Museums Galleries Scotland, delivering tailored traditional skills workshops that bring the curriculum to life.
Award-Winning Experience Design
Our expertise extends into the heart of the visitor experience. Over the past six years, we led the service design and evaluation at The Scottish Crannog Centre, developing a nationally recognized visitor journey.
By utilizing previously undervalued collections to tell empowering stories, we achieved:
70% increase in volunteer engagement.
50% increase in visitor footfall and engagement.
Diverse Audience Growth: Connecting people from all walks of life with the stories of the land.
Why Partner With HA&H?
Pragmatic Expertise: We understand the NPPF and local authority requirements inside out, ensuring your project remains compliant and on track.
Adaptive Problem Solving: We thrive on flexibility and supportive communication, adapting our consultancy to fit your project’s specific heartbeat.
Proven Social Value: We help developers and organizations meet (and exceed) their social responsibility goals by creating genuine, lasting links with the community.
At HA&H, we don’t just uncover the past; we ensure it leaves a positive, tangible legacy for the future.