OAU makes a grab for Essex

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The Oxford (OAU) unit's quest for world domination continues: they want to take
over the Essex unit.

The news broke first on the messageboard of the BAJR website. Essex staff had been summoned to the unit's Braintree headquarters earlier that day to be told that the council had recently been contacted by OAU. A letter from Oxford raised 'the question of whether it would be beneficial for both parties to enter into discussions about the future possibility of joint working' or, failing that, of OAU 'acquiring' the Essex unit.

Graham Tooms, the head of the Waste, Recycling and Environment directorate that oversees the archaeology unit, and Dave Buckley, the Head of the Heritage Conservation Branch stressed that the proposed merger or takeover was not definite and only 'one of a number of options under consideration.' A source within Essex council told The Digger that these options included Essex 'merging with another unit or units in the South-East/East Anglia region,' adding that: 'It seems that Oxford are keen to establish a base of operations somewhere in the South-East,' another possibility being Kent.

Once the story was out, Essex Council issued a press release saying that 'an operational review' had been set up to examine 'the role of [the Essex unit] within the county council.' The review panel, which will initially include three archaeology staff, will decide whether the unit will be retained within the council or be merged or go into partnership with an external organisation. The review will be completed 'by late February 2003' and negotiations will only begin with an outside organisation if Essex councillors give their approval.

Despite these assurances, our source told us, 'the temporary staff are not convinced
that Oxford would keep [them] employed on the county payscale, as apparently they
pay their digging staff much less then Essex County Council. Why would they pay one group of diggers more than another?'

The fact that the council has not rejected OAU's proposal outright suggests that it is
actively considering privatising the unit. Councils have no statutory duty to provide
an archaeology service, and some councils have tried to make short-term savings in the past by shutting down or selling off their archaeology units. In November, the Gloucester unit was only saved from closure by a spirited campaign of demonstrations and petitions backed by local press and celebrities. Two years after
being acquired by Bradford University the Carlisle unit was controversially closed
down.

From the point of view of OAU, taking over Essex is a shrewd move. OAU gains a firm foothold in the lucrative South-East market and eliminates a competitor at the
same time.