EXPERT WITNESS
Independent heritage expertise
USING THE PAST TO CREATE A BETTER FUTURE
Heritage Innovation provides independent expert witness services in archaeology, cultural heritage and planning. Dr Paul Belford is available to advise and provide written and oral evidence in planning appeals, public inquiries, NSIP hearings, examinations in public, and civil proceedings.
Dr Belford's practice as an expert witness draws on more than 30 years of development-led heritage work in the English and Welsh planning systems, direct management of heritage assets in a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and extensive experience of heritage policy across all four UK nations. He combines the depth of a practitioner with the policy literacy of someone who has operated at CEO and board level — in both the private and not-for-profit sectors.
Areas of expert witness expertise include:
- Heritage significance assessment and harm — under NPPF Chapters 16 & 17, PPW, NPPGs and Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023
- Setting of heritage assets and the impact of development on setting
- World Heritage Sites — Outstanding Universal Value, buffer zones, setting, management plans
- Industrial heritage, brownfield development and urban regeneration
- Historic urban landscape — character, significance and impact assessment
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) — cultural heritage chapters
- Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) — heritage evidence for DCO hearings
- Professional standards and ethics in archaeological and heritage practice
We can assist with
- Planning appeals (written representations, hearings and inquiries)
- Called-in applications and public inquiries
- Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) hearings and examinations
- Local Plan examinations in public
- Civil disputes involving heritage assets (CPR Part 35 compliant reports)
- Planning enforcement proceedings
- Listed building consent and conservation area disputes
Instructions are accepted from solicitors, planning barristers, developers, Local Planning Authorities and public bodies across England and Wales. Fees are not conditional on the outcome of any case.
Professional biography
Dr Paul Belford has more than 30 years of professional experience in archaeology and cultural heritage management. He began his
career managing commercial development-led archaeology in complex urban and industrial contexts, before taking senior leadership
roles in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. From 2000 to 2010 he led the archaeology and monuments team at Ironbridge
Gorge Museum Trust, managing heritage assets across a UNESCO World Heritage Site and building a substantial commercial
project portfolio. He subsequently served as CEO of Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, one of Wales's four regional archaeology
trusts, where he oversaw delivery of heritage services to commercial developers, local authorities and national government. He
founded Heritage Innovation in 2023 and maintains a parallel academic practice, including as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of
Birmingham and visiting roles at the Universities of York, Chester and Bristol.
Dr Belford has served at board level for more than 20 years, including as Chair of the Black Country Living Museum, Chair of the
Historic Environment Partnership in Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, and as a Board Director of the Chartered Institute for
Archaeologists. He is a member of the National Trust's Historic Environment Advisory Group, which provides strategic advice to the
Trust's Trustees and senior management on heritage policy.
Qualifications and accreditations
- PhD, Archaeology — University of York
- MA, Historical Archaeology — University of Sheffield
- Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA, elected 2008)
- Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (MCIfA, since 2007)
- Associate of the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP)
Selected publications relevant to planning and heritage policy
- Ethics in Archaeological Practice (with Gerry Wait). Routledge, 2025.
- "Ensuring archaeology in the planning system delivers public benefit." Public Archaeology, 18:4, 2020.
- "Politics and heritage: developments in historic environment policy and practice in Wales." The Historic Environment: Policy and Practice, 9:2, 2018.
A full list of publications and Dr Belford's CV are available here:
Some recent clients and project partners
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