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NEWS RELEASE 17th April 2007 COWRIE publishes marine archaeological and heritage guidance for the renewable energy sector Wessex Archaeology Ltd, commissioned by COWRIE Ltd, has produced a guidance to promote the development of best practice in relation to the marine historic environment for the offshore renewable energy sector. With the emergence of offshore renewables as a growing industry sector, and an increased awareness of the need to manage and protect our marine historic environment, COWRIE thought it timely to produce this document. The report provides generic guidance in relation to the survey, appraisal and monitoring of the historic environment during the development of offshore renewable energy projects in the United Kingdom. It covers both the marine and coastal environments and those areas further inland likely to be affected by such developments. It also offers a comprehensive list of expert contacts for further advice. It is also intended to promote an understanding of the conservation issues arising from the impacts of offshore renewable energy projects on the historic environment, and in this way develop capacity amongst developers, consultants and contractors. COWRIE works to raise awareness and understanding of the potential environmental impacts of the UK offshore windfarm programme. Dr Chris Pater, marine planner for English Heritage, said: "English Heritage welcomes the publication of this guidance to serve the offshore renewable energy development sector. We very much appreciate the support from COWRIE to commission this guidance document as it provides comprehensive detail on the assessment of the historic environment (inclusive of prehistoric landscapes and wrecks of ships and aircraft) and how mitigation can be delivered to help ensure archaeological material is not lost as these projects are developed." Dr Carolyn Heeps, a Director of COWRIE Ltd and Head of Offshore & Environment at The Crown Estate added: "This new report emphasises COWRIE's ongoing commitment to work with a wide range of sea-user interests to address the potential impacts of the renewable energy sector through good management practices." An Adobe Acrobat version of the guidance is available by following the link below: http://www.offshorewind.co.uk/KnowledgeBase/HistoricEnvironmentGuidanceN ote.aspx For more information, contact the COWRIE Secretariat at: [log in to unmask] c/o 36 Kingfisher Court Hambridge Road Newbury, RG14 5SJ, UK Email: [log in to unmask] Registered Company No. 5483531 Registered Charity No. 1112518 For more information on Wessex Archaeology see the website: www.wessexarch.co.uk