You are not allowed to metal detect on any land that is owned or tenanted by us, unless there is a requirement for a metal detecting survey as part of an approved archaeological investigation.
Why can I not metal detect on Council-owned land?
There are a number of problems that can be caused by metal detecting, including:
- disturbances to listed parks
- disturbances near to listed buildings
- damage to tree roots, plants and wildlife
- trip hazards because land has been disturbed and not put back properly
- trip hazards where settlement has occurred as a result of land being disturbed
- artefacts being removed from their original location
- risk of disturbance to utility services (whether they are recorded ones or not)
- damage to related archaeological deposits
- recovering only parts of a collection of items, for example, finding a crown, but missing the jewels that have fallen out and are located a few meters away
- unreported discoveries
The National Council for Metal Detecting website has information and advice about how to metal detect and stay within the law.