County post in Northants

[vulpes]

This is the sequence of events as I understand it - correct me if I'm wrong! The heritage team as such was wound up and a number of staff made redundant. The remaining staff were split - the planning archaeologist going to the planning dept and the SMR staff going to the record office. Prior to this there was a round of job evaluations with staff effectively having to re-apply for their jobs. Next, the 'new' planning archaeologist may have found their reach reduced in that planning matters in the districts were dealt with on a consultation only basis - in other words checking of weekly planning lists was out and a 'don't ask - don't tell' policy in. E.g.

quote:liaise with the district councils in respect of significant planning applications submitted to them

The planning archaeologist of long standing recently left the 'new' post to join a large archaeological consultancy firm (I wish him every success). Unfortunately, no laws have been broken to my knowledge! Northants County Council cited financial difficulties as the reason for this affair. Both the County and the districts have been without archaeological advice for some months to my knowledge, a gap in cover that may be explained by the period in the financial year - and also by the efficiency of local government HR services. While I wouldn't want to put any off applying for this post, I hope the above serves as useful background info to how highly heritage is valued by this organisation. And yes I have read the AUP.