Norwood Farm

Project Summary

 The 100-hectare site at Norwood Farm was the first large-scale geophysical survey undertaken by our new in-house geophysics team (see page 6).  The site was proposed for a 3500-house residential development on the south-western fringes of Northampton. It is one of several surveys recently undertaken by Headland for clients represented by the Environmental Dimension Partnership (EDP) who commissioned the work.

Project Details

Due to the tight timescale and large area, the survey had to be carried out as soon as the cereal crops covering the site had been harvested. The timings for the data processing and interpretation were also important in order to ensure that an appropriate scheme of trial trenching could be designed, costed, approved and carried out soon after completion of the geophysical survey. Under normal circumstances the survey report would need to be completed and submitted for approval before any further scope of works was agreed. However, Headland always provides frequent consultant/client updates on the progress of the survey and also immediately ‘flags up’ any areas of archaeological sensitivity. From Day One anomalies clearly indicative of archaeological activity were identified and within a week it was apparent that this activity covered large parts of the site. As processing and interpretation was ongoing throughout the survey this enabled an initial interpretation of the results to be produced within a week so that proposals for the trenching scheme were already finalised before the geophysical survey report was completed, thus saving valuable time, and ensuring a smooth transition through to the trial trenching phase.

Having an in-house geophysics team means that all managers in the other regional offices have access to specialist advice, which can be particularly important when using third-party data to assess risk when costing evaluations or excavations. At the same time because the results of all excavations are fed back to the geophysics teams, it enables us to get immediate feedback on all our own surveys, allowing us to constantly refine our knowledge and improve the accuracy of our interpretations.  This gives confidence to our Project Managers to put together a competitive cost for the trial trenching which means that the client/consultant can be assured of both continuity of service and a competitive price for each job.