Pontefract Hospital, Pontefract, West Yorkshire. Archaeological Excavation Assessment.

Following a planning application (Planning Reference 06/99/11487/BV) submitted by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council for the erection of new hospital buildings and ancillary accommodation on the present site of part of Pontefract Infirmary, Pontefract, West Yorkshire (SE 457 218), West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service (WYAAS) requested that a programme of trial trenching should be
undertaken on the site to evaluate the presence and significance of any archaeological remains. Following submission of costs and a project design to meet the WYAAS
specification, Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) was commissioned by Mid- Yorkshire NHS Trust to undertake the evaluation, which was completed in August and September 2006. Subsequent to the receipt of an interim report on the results of the evaluation, WYAAS issued a specification for a programme of further archaeological investigation and recording in order to mitigate the impact of the development. Unfortunately, it emerged that no post-determination archaeological planning condition had been attached to the consent for the development, but, after a
period of negotiation, Mid-Yorkshire NHS Trust generously commissioned OA North to undertake a reduced programme of excavation, which was carried out in two stages between January and March 2007.