Historic Environment Record guidelines

Terms and conditions

1. The Archaeological Service maintains an Historic Environment Record (HER), formerly the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR). It is essentially a private document enabling the Council to conserve the county’s archaeological resource and undertake research.

2. Although statutory rights of access are limited, Suffolk County Council wishes to encourage the use of the HER by genuine researchers, who will contribute to the understanding of the county’s archaeology and heritage. However, to protect the archaeological resource, access to information held in the HER is only available subject to the following conditions:

• All enquiries should be made on the application form.
• The applicant should state what information is required, and the specific purpose of the enquiry.
• HER data is provided on a site by site basis -this can either be a specific site(s) or a generalised discrete area(s).
• For non-commercial searches, the request must relate to a specific research question.
• Information may not be used for commercial gain, without permission of the County Council.
• Information supplied will not be made available to any third party, disseminated, or otherwise publicised, without further approval of the County Council, except where the information is used in support of a planning application.
• Recipients of HER information will be responsible for its safekeeping and will dispose of it in a responsible manner when it is no longer required for the purpose for which it was obtained.
• All information will be retrieved by the HER Officer, or under their supervision.
• Data provided for a specific purpose should not be used for a different purpose without permission of the County Council.
• The County Council does not make a commercial charge for information supplied but does recharge the staff costs involved in the retrieval of information required and any copying costs.
• The County Council cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy of any information supplied.
• In supplying information, no right of copying is implied, and applicants are advised to consult The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988) for information about copyright law.

3. The County Council reserves the right to refuse access to HER information where it believes that disclosure of that information could endanger the county’s archaeological resource or if the request is considered unreasonable or disproportionate.

Find out how to request access to the HER here.

Please be aware that a log of all enquiries is maintained. Email archaeology.her@suffolk.gov.uk if you've any questions.