THE ROLE OF THE MEAS ARCHAEOLOGICAL ADVISORY TEAM
MEAS undertakes the following historic environment planning work on behalf of Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Knowsley and Wirral District Councils.
- Advising on identifying Heritage Assets with an archaeological and built heritage interest and understanding their significance
- Assessing the likely archaeological and built heritage implications of development proposals
- Recommending any necessary archaeological or built heritage work as a planning condition
- Liaising with planners and developers to mitigate impacts on significant archaeology and historic buildings.
- Preparing briefs and advising on written schemes of investigation
- Monitoring archaeological and built heritage works
- Mediating between clients and archaeological contractors
- Promoting dissemination of results from archaeological and historic building investigations
MEAS does not carry out fieldwork projects or undertake commercial consultancy work, which is carried out by professional archaeological contractors , although MEAS is always pleased to provide advice on appropriate methods and scope of investigating sites.
MEAS does not maintain a list of archaeological contractors. The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists maintains a list of approved organisations that undertake archaeological and built heritage work within the region MEAS is a member of the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO).

Archaeology & Planning
Development across Merseyside is guided by the National Planning Policy Framework ( Department for Levelling UP, Housing and Communities, Revised September 2023), which sets out the government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied.

Historic Environment Record
The Historic Environment Record (HER) is a publicly accessible record of Merseyside`s diverse historic environment. Referred to previously as the Sites and Monuments Record, it contains information on all known archaeological sites, historic buildings, find-spots and historic landscapes across Merseyside.