Kent County Council’s Heritage Conservation team has been awarded a grant of £148,000 by Historic England to research and reveal Thanet’s archaeological significance.
The team, working with Thanet District Council, will undertake the Thanet Archaeological Landscapes Mapping Project which will reflect the exceptional significance and visibility of archaeological remains across Thanet.
The archaeological heritage of Thanet has a distinct character and, due to the district’s role throughout history as a gateway region, is central to an understanding of the historic relationship between England and continental Europe.
Thanet is an area subject to development pressures that could result in significant impacts on the landscape, particularly in the rural areas of the district, in which so many well-preserved archaeological sites lie.
The project will include:
- A data gathering phase in which a range of archaeological information will be added to the Kent Historic Environment Record (HER); the Historic England Aerial Investigation and Mapping (AIM) team will upgrade the HER with all features visible in aerial photographs and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) surveys; historic maps will be examined to identify the district’s Post-Medieval heritage and Thanet’s HER records will be enhanced to enable heritage assets to be clearly delineated and maps of different archaeological periods developed;
- Using ‘Archaeological Characterisation’ to tell the story of the development of Thanet and identify what is particularly significant and where there are gaps in knowledge;
- A strategy document that will help developers anticipate the impact of their proposals on Thanet’s archaeology;
- A public engagement programme involving a newsletter, talks and archaeological trails.
The project will complete at the end of February 2027.
Kent County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Susan Carey said: “I’m delighted that KCC’s Heritage Conservation team has secured funding for this important work which will not only identify historic features and shape future development but also deepen our understanding of Kent’s heritage and make that knowledge available through the Kent Historic Environment Record.”
Thanet District Council’s Leader, Cllr Rick Everitt said: “We welcome this exciting project that will give us a greater understanding of Thanet’s history and landscape.
“There is potentially so much to discover, and we look forward to seeing the outcomes of this work.”
Typical public sector waffle-speak in the blurb from the Council.
I’m sure they would have made maps like this before and all it needs is updating. Don’t know how it will take 4 years, but councils are great at wasting public funds on things that either doesn’t need doing or taking 4 years to do a job which could be done in 6 weeks. Guess we’ll see more consultants and council staff doing about 6 weeks of work over the 4 year term.
Miserable cynic.
Who me? Not really, I just know how useless the public sector really is, especially at tin pot council level.
All the money thanet has been given over the last 10 years, can you really tell me its been a change for the better, or which anyone would actually notice? I’m regards to council funding I mean.
If Thanet council looked at its own library records they would fine most of the answers. Plus if they grew up and lived in Thanet it should be local knowledge.
But clearly not the case.
Still think Everett should step aside and let someone with a backbone try to put right before concreting over grade one land.
Rob does’t have a clue what is involved. The HER is a mess!
Perhaps people need to look at the Kent County Council Heritage Environment Record and see how immense the information is but also appreciate that it still only contains a fraction of the information ! Very little of it is on official databases and often only stored in the history books or other paper records.
A very important heritage project
The only sensible comment on here!
no doubt there will be some digging into the fund as well ?