20th April 2007, 09:55 AM
Quote:quote:Originally posted by 1man1desk
In general principle, I support the separation of field units from council ownership, because as long as they remain in council ownership there is always the temptation for the curatorial authority to unfairly favour them in monitoring and to pressure clients to use them rather than someone else. I have no reason to believe this happens in Cambridgeshire, but I do have direct experience of it happening in another area, where the senior manager of the unit is also the county archaeologist.
Just to balance this out, one unit with which I am familiar actually suffered the opposite effect to that cited above. Rather than being favoured by the curatorial team, they were vilified and the curatorial team actively sought to deny them work. This resulted primarily from a clash of personalities between the unit manager and the curatorial team. Still, it is important to maintain a balanced viewpoint and recognise that units can be hindered as well as helped by being part of a council.
Cheers,
Eggbasket
Gentleman Adventurer and Antique
"A great victory for rangers and hamsters everywhere. Right, Boo?" - Minsc