If you are an SRDP applicant or Forestry Manager

There may be archaeological sites within your SRDP or forestry scheme area which will need to be protected and managed. The Archaeology Service is able to provide information and advice on the historic environment to help in preparing applications for schemes within Aberdeenshire, Moray, Angus and Aberdeen City Council areas.

Information and advice

The Archaeology Service can provide information and management advice for SRDP schemes. When consulted, we will:

• carry out a search of all known sites within the scheme's boundary
• check the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps for additional sites, for example, old farmsteads
• check our vertical aerial photograph collection
• provide you with details of sites identified, including historic map extracts, and GIS Shapefile extracts, and appropriate guidance

Our charging scheme for the 2024/25 financial year is:

For further information and queries please contact archaeology@aberdeenshire.gov.uk 

Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP)

The SRDP scheme is designed to encourage farmers, crofters and other land managers to adopt environmentally friendly practices and to maintain and enhance particular habitats and landscape features such as archaeological sites.

The 2014-2020 SRDP includes the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) and the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS).

The Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) will support both the creation of new woodlands and the sustainable management of existing woodlands.  Proposals will need to meet current UK Forestry Standard and associated guidelines, including those relating to the historic environment.

Historic environment features within forests and woodlands need to be appropriately managed. Upstanding archaeological remains should generally be left unplanted as open ground. Further guidance relating to archaeological information and advice for forestry management and new planting has been produced by Forestry Commission Scotland (now Scottish Forestry).

The Agri-Environment Climate Scheme promotes land management practices which protect and enhance Scotland’s natural heritage, improve water quality, manage flood risk and mitigate and adapt to climate change. Farm Environment Assessments must include Scheduled Monuments. We would encourage landowners to incorporate management of other historic environment sites within management proposals.

Further guidance

More information can be found on the SRDP section of the Scottish Government's website.

Guidance relating to Scotland's woodlands and the historic environment can be found on the Scottish Forestry website, including:

• Forests and historic environment: information and advice - a summary of what forest and woodland managers should consider in relation to the historic environment
• Historic environment resource guide for forest and woodland managers in Scotland - a guide to the resources available to forest and woodland managers relating to the historic environment of Scotland, it has been designed as a routemap to the most pertinent available information and advice, including prospective walkover surveys
• Conserving and managing trees and woodlands in Scotland’s designed landscapes aimed at assisting owners and managers in caring for all the tree components in the heritage of designed landscapes
• Woodland creation and Rig and Furrow outlines what forest and woodland managers should consider when planning a woodland creation proposal in areas with evidence of rig and furrow
• Managing the historic environment case study - guidance to help forest and woodland managers deliver best practice conservation management over a wide range of archaeological sites and historic landscapes

Further advice on managing archaeological sites can be found on the Archaeology Scotland website.