MK Historic Environment Record: Access and Charging Policy

1. Introduction

Content of the Historic Environment Record (HER)

Milton Keynes City Council maintains the Historic Environment Record (HER) for the City of Milton Keynes, known as Milton Keynes HER or MK HER. The HER is the primary source of information about the historic environment in the City and authority area. It includes a database that contains more than 10,000 records with information about remains from the prehistoric period to the present day. These provide information on nationally designated (conservation areas, listed buildings, registered parks and gardens and scheduled monuments), locally designated and undesignated heritage assets. Full details of the remit and content of the record can be found elsewhere in the HER’s Information/Recording Policy.

How do I access the HER?

The HER is based at Civic Offices, 1 Saxon Gate East in Central Milton Keynes. You can get information from the HER in a number of different ways, such as by letter, email, or telephone, or make an appointment to visit in person.

Opening times

The HER is open Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4.30pm (subject to availability of relevant staff). If you wish to visit in person you will need to email or telephone first to make an appointment and make sure that someone is available; please email archaeology@milton-keynes.gov.uk or call 07876 003376 leaving a message if necessary. An appointment can normally be arranged within 10 working days.

Facilities

If you choose to visit the HER we have a desk available for you to use. The Archaeological Officer will assist you and can make photocopies for you. There is a range of additional resources available to visitors, including archaeological reports, aerial photographs and local journals.

Searching the HER

HER searches provide information selected from the record, normally for a defined area, although bespoke searches can also be done for particular periods or types of records. The HER includes both digital and hard copy information and references to other sources held outside the HER. It is constantly being enhanced and the absence of a record should not be relied upon as indicating a lack of heritage interest, other national or specialist sources may contain information not held or indexed.

2. Conditions of use

Introduction

Milton Keynes City Council is committed to the protection, conservation and enhancement of the historic environment. To ensure that information from the MK HER is used responsibly, those applying to consult it are requested to provide details about the nature of their enquiry and to follow the Guidance for Users outlined below. Please note that permission to use the HER may be refused or limited in certain circumstances.

Guidance for users

1. Milton Keynes HER users are requested to inform Milton Keynes City Council of the following, in writing or by email to archaeology@milton-keynes.gov.uk :

(a) the subject and purpose of their enquiry;

(b) the use to which the information will be put; and

2. A service charge is made for enquiries to the Milton Keynes HER but this is normally waived for enquiries for non-commercial, educational or personal research, except where searches require extensive work. The costs of paper, printing and other incidental expenses may be charged to all users.

3. Milton Keynes HER is the copyright of Milton Keynes City Council. Some information held in the HER may also be the copyright of others. It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that copyright law is not breached.

4. Users are requested to inform, and to make their research available to Milton Keynes HER where new archaeological sites or data are discovered as a result of their work.

5. Users are requested to make appropriate acknowledgement of Milton Keynes HER in any publication or report which has made use of its data.

6. While efforts have been made to verify the data held in the Milton Keynes HER, Milton Keynes City Council cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy of any particular data and its source.

7. Milton Keynes City Council accepts that there may be a requirement to treat certain enquiries in confidence. Equally, the HER expects that users will not pass on information in an irresponsible or unethical manner.

8. Milton Keynes City Council reserves all rights of Copyright which are owned in the material provided. Dissemination to a third party without the written consent of the Historic Environment Record Officer is a breach of copyright. Information supplied shall be used for the specified purposes only.

9. Access to all or part of the information requested may be refused in certain circumstances.

9.1 Information may not be disclosed if:

(a) it relates to the subject matter of any legal or other proceedings, actual or prospective (including Local Planning Inquiries);

(b) it relates to confidential, internal communications of Milton Keynes City Council;

9.2 Information will not be disclosed if:

(a) it was supplied to the Council by another party who was under no legal obligation to do so and could not have been put under any legal obligation to supply it and has not consented to its disclosure;

(b) its disclosure would increase the likelihood of damage to the environment affecting anything to which the information relates.

10. A request for information may be refused if it is manifestly unreasonable or is formulated in too general a manner.

11. Every endeavour is made to respond to enquiries within 10 working days.

Complaints procedure

If you have any complaint about the service you have received please contact in the first instance: Simon Peart, Conservation & Archaeology Manager, Planning, Civic Offices, Saxon Gate East, MK9 3EJ

3. Charging policy

Public & Research Access and Enquiries Access to Milton Keynes Historic Environment Record (HER) is free for the public, students and other researchers, a good starting point is the online HER via the Heritage Gateway website (note that the Heritage Gateway is not suitable for commercial enquiries or planning purposes): www.heritagegateway.org.uk

Commercial Access and Enquiries

A charge based on an hourly rate is made for commercial enquiries. This charge covers staff costs to extract information from the HER and make it available remotely in a suitable format, it specifically does not include any costs for overheads or management and maintenance of the HER itself.

All remote HER searches take a minimum of two hours regardless of the format of the data extracted or the search area requested. Most searches will only take two hours, however some more complex searches may take longer, it is best to contact us for a quote to be sure of the exact cost. The charging schedule below is consequently for guidance only.

Scale of charges (fixed rate)

Our current minimum charges for an HER search are:

Standard HER search (response within 10 working days): £107.58 +VAT (2 hours @ £53.79 per hour)
Extended HER search (response within 10 working days): £161.37 +VAT (3 hours @ £53.79 per hour)
Priority HER Search (response within 3 working days): Priority searches are not offered as standard due to staff availability. However, enquirers may request a priority search. When available priority searches are charged at twice the above rates (£107.58 +VAT per hour).

Guideline search definitions:

Standard search (up to 50 monument records)

Typically 1km radius in rural areas, 750m radius in villages, 500m radius in smaller towns & New Town grid squares, 250m radius in large urban areas such as Olney and Newport Pagnell.

Extended search

(51-150 monument records) Typically these will be pipeline routes, areas over 1km radius in rural areas or over 250m radius in large urban areas.

All fees are subject to review. Prices correct from 6 April 2026.

Data supplied from a commercial Milton Keynes HER Search:

Monuments (archaeological sites and monuments)
Events (archaeological activity)
HLC (Historic Landscape Character data and reports, includes Historic Farmstead data)

Method of payment

Following the enquiry an invoice will be sent out to the HER user by Milton Keynes City Council. Payment for the HER search is to be returned directly to Central Payments c/o Milton Keynes City Council. Cheques should be made payable to Milton Keynes City Council.

Revised, and prices updated 6 April 2026, NAC.