Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment
What a cultural heritage impact assessment is
A cultural heritage impact assessment is the technical document that analyses the foreseeable effects of a project on the heritage, archaeological and ethnographic assets present within its area of influence, usually included as an annex to the Environmental Impact Study. Unlike the heritage impact consultation (the prior enquiry), this assessment sets out in detail the analysis, the evaluation of impacts and the preventive, corrective or compensatory measures needed to protect the heritage identified.
What it includes
- Inventory and cataloguing of the heritage, archaeological and ethnographic assets identified within the project's direct and indirect area of influence.
- Assessment of the state of conservation and level of protection of each feature.
- Analysis of the foreseeable impact of the project on each asset: direct, indirect, visual or cumulative effects.
- Proposed measures: modification of the route or design to avoid direct impacts, physical protection during works, archaeological monitoring, and preventive excavation where necessary.
When it is needed
It is common on renewable energy and linear infrastructure projects of a certain scale, where the prior consultation (heritage impact consultation) has identified relevant heritage assets within the project area, or where the culture authority expressly requires this detailed assessment as a condition for issuing its sectoral report within the environmental impact assessment.
How it is prepared
- Desk-based review of archaeological charts, heritage catalogues and records of previous interventions in the area.
- Archaeological field survey, with systematic coverage of the project area.
- Documentation of each feature identified: descriptive record, georeferenced location and graphic documentation.
- Impact assessment against criteria of magnitude, reversibility and significance.
- Drafting of the annex for integration into the Environmental Impact Study, with the proposed measures.
Regulatory framework
Under Spanish and regional heritage law, notably Law 16/1985 on the Spanish Historical Heritage and the applicable regional heritage act, cultural heritage must be assessed and protected within the environmental impact assessment of projects. Specific requirements and the competent authority vary from one autonomous community to another.
Why choose Ideas Medioambientales
We draft cultural heritage impact assessments with our own archaeologists, integrating the analysis with the rest of the project's environmental documentation and coordinating the results with subsequent archaeological monitoring on site where needed.
With more than 25 years of experience and an in-house multidisciplinary team that includes archaeologists, biologists and environmental scientists, we work across the whole of Spain from our offices in Albacete and Madrid. Our management systems are certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
Tell us the location of your project and we will advise on the scope of cultural heritage impact assessment you need.
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What can we cover in 30 minutes?
It's more than enough time to have an overview of your needs and recommend the best route forward. Here there is a summary of the steps we will follow.
