NSP
Heritage Consulting
What I do
I provide expert heritage and archaeology advice to property owners and the development and construction industry
Navigating heritage. Moving your project forward.
historic buildings and conservation areas | archaeology | historic landscapes |
I provide practical, cost-effective heritage advice to property owners, architects, planners and developers looking to adapt historic buildings or develop land.
From initial feasibility through to planning consent and construction, I help clients understand heritage requirements, manage risks and find sensible solutions that move their projects forward:
- at an early strategic level when looking at risks and options for development
- during a planning, scheduled monument or listed building application, and I can provide:
- listed building or scheduled monument consent applications
- historic building and conservation area heritage statements
- statements of significance
- impact assessments
- conservation management plans
- archaeological desk-based assessments
- procurement and management of field surveys on archaeological sites or historic buildings
- post consent when conditions need to be discharged.
Working closely with you and your architect or planning consultant, I help identify practical solutions that balance your project's objectives with the needs of the historic environment. My approach is designed to minimise unnecessary costs, delays and uncertainty, making the heritage planning process as straightforward as possible.
Contact me for a free initial discussion about your project
Supporting your in-house heritage team
expertise | capacity | flexibility
I also work with other heritage organisations and consultants on a flexible sub-contract or interim basis.
I help to boost expert capability and capacity in your team whenever it's needed. I'm experienced at fitting quickly into multi-disciplinary project teams on large and complex projects and can be trusted to deliver.
I can also offer expert and flexible heritage business consultancy advice. If you need experienced and independent support to help your organisation grow or build a new business strategy, or identify change projects to strengthen delivery, resilience and efficiency, I can help.
Get in touch now to see how I can help
About me
Nick Shepherd
Director
I'm Nick Shepherd, an independent heritage consultant based near Banbury in north Oxfordshire, with over 35 years' experience helping clients navigate the sometimes complex world of heritage planning.
Originally trained as an archaeologist, I've worked on a wide range of projects, from small residential developments and the sensitive alteration of historic buildings to major infrastructure schemes, including HS2. I also hold an MSc in Historic Conservation from Oxford Brookes University, bringing together expertise in both archaeology and the historic built environment.
I understand that dealing with heritage issues can seem daunting, particularly if you're unfamiliar with the planning process. My approach is straightforward and pragmatic: helping you understand what matters, identifying potential problems early and finding practical, proportionate solutions that allow your project to move forward while respecting the historic environment.
I work with homeowners, landowners, architects, planning consultants and developers, providing advice and support from the earliest stages of a project through to planning consent and construction. I also support larger consultancies when they need additional specialist expertise or project capacity.
Being based near Banbury, I'm particularly well placed to help clients across north Oxfordshire and the surrounding areas of Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Gloucestershire. I have a good understanding of the local historic environment and the heritage issues that can arise when developing land or making changes to historic buildings. I'm also happy to consider interesting projects further afield.
I'm a one-man band (plus dog), so you'll always deal directly with me. I aim to provide clear, independent advice, a responsive and personal service, and a sensible approach to costs.
If you're planning changes to a historic building or developing land where heritage might be an issue, please get in touch. I'd be happy to discuss how I can help.
Recent work
Barn conversion, Cotswolds
Threshing barn, to malt house, to new home
I worked with a team including the architects, structural engineers and building conservation specialists to achieve planning consent for conversion of a listed Cotswold stone barn. A detailed heritage statement assessing the significance of the barn and the impact of the proposed works helped to reassure the planning authority and Historic England that we were able to protect and reveal the significance of the historic structure while still delivering a superb contemporary new home. The client successfully sold the property with planning and listed building consent and the new owner is now preparing to begin the hard work of conversion.
If you have a listed or non listed historic building and need advice on heritage planning issues, get in touch.
Design and delivery: High Speed 2
The largest infrastructure project in Europe and a generational opportunity to better understand the archaeology and heritage of southern England
Working as a freelance consultant with the Atkins Global team I have helped to deliver both the environmental impact assessment, during 2015/16, and the research and delivery strategy in 2017. Currently I'm working with the HS2 environmental team and the Enabling Works Contractors to deliver the archaeology and heritage for the central section of the route from the Colne Valley in west London through Bucks, Northants and into Warwickshire, including some of the most complex and important sites along the route.
With significant expertise and experience of major projects I'm available to support your team through design or implementation.
Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers
Promoting the profession
For over three years until June 2019, I was the CEO of FAME, the trade association for archaeological contractors and consultants. I was there to guide strategy and provide the public face of the organisation to both the heritage and construction sectors. This kept me on top of policy and guidance developments and still gives me a unique network of contacts across the industry.
Small housing development, Gloucestershire
Helping a private client make the most of their land value
Small housing developments can still impact on archaeological remains with risk to programme and budget.
On this project I was able to help avoid expensive desk-based and geophysical survey, getting agreement to go straight to evaluation trenching which revealed the remains of a Roman farmstead on part of the site. The results are being used to support a planning application, and if successful, I will be organising further pre-construction excavation to discharge the condition.
Early consultation on archaeology and heritage can massively reduce development risks. Get in contact to discuss how I can help.
An archaeological priority area, Kingston upon Thames, London
Removing archaeology as a constraint on development
At a late stage in the planning process the client, a large multi-diciplinary consultancy, became aware that their proposed upgrade to a local authority waste site was located within one of London's Archaeology Priority Areas. With their own in-house heritage expertise already commited on other projects, NSP was asked to step in and rapidly appraise the risks, produce a desk-based assessment and design evaluation works to support the planning application. The outcome of the work has been to demonstrate that while there is archaeological potential, the proposals will cause no harm, and so can proceed with no further constraint.
If your heritage team needs extra support or added expertise on a project give me a call.
Listed buildings and conservation areas
Assessing the impact of new development in a historic town
Obtaining consent for new build in conservation areas in not straightforward, especially when the site lies within the setting of numerous listed buildings. The key is early engagement with the planning authority and their conservation officer to arrive at a scheme that enhances architectural and historic significance, and minimises or avoids harm. On this site in the historic Cotswold town of Marston Moretain, detailed desk-based reaserch identified the significance of the both the built heritage and archaeology, assessed the impact of the proposed scheme, and helped to inform a design that obtained consent.
If you need advice on a proposed scheme within a conservation area or close to listed buildings contact me for a preliminary discussion.
Providing training in archaeological project management
Supporting capacity building in the sector
I've been working with the University of Oxford Department of Continuing Education to design and deliver a course in project management for archaeologists. Some comments from attendees:
"really enjoyed the course"
"could have done with some of this training, before I embarked on project managing a 2 year archaeological project "
"it has brought clarity to a lot of concepts which I was aware of and strategies and methods which I already use but added an awareness of a much greater level of order and structure and provided me with direction on how to develop them further "
Although this course is no longer running it can be bespoke designed and delivered in-house direct to your project teams. Get in touch for more details.
Connect with me
NSP Heritage Consulting
24 Wales Street | Kings Sutton | Banbury| Oxon | OX173RR
Tel: +44 (0)7718 994 946
Email
Linkedin
