About us

“Mary is professional, measured in her approach and enthusiastic about heritage. She is extremely knowledgeable about heritage requirements, but more importantly, meets those requirements efficiently so that her clients get what they need.” – Client Team

Unlocking potential through heritage expertise

Solving your problems through opportunities within the historic environment is our passion. Our solutions seamlessly blend preservation with contemporary use and enjoyment. Your needs and goals are met through a customised approach – this is what makes us unique. We excel at transforming limitations into opportunities through practical and compliant strategies that align with your goals.

Our collaborative approach aims to uncover creative possibilities within heritage restrictions. We transform limitations into opportunities through pragmatic, compliant strategies. With decades of combined experience, our team offers comprehensive services working with heritage buildings, sites and communities.

We are experts. With our varying skills at Archway Heritage, we offer a full range of heritage services. We draw upon these specialisms to ensure the delivery of your project from inception to completion.

Manager and Senior Consultant

Mary Neale MA MCIfA mary@archwayheritage.co.uk
Mary has over 20 years of professional experience in local government and the private sector and her base of operations is in Reading, Berkshire. Mary’s work bridges the gap between history and progress by promoting solutions that balance heritage conservation with responsible development. She works closely with developers, planners, and communities to foster informed decision-making through rigorous research, analysis and reporting. Primary experience relates to:

negotiating with local authorities on heritage constraints

settings assessments
Listed building and conservation area assessments
surveying historic buildings
archaeology surveys and preliminary investigations
managing detailed archaeological investigations
supporting appeal cases and speaking at planning tribunals.

Associate Consultant

Abi Hunt BA MEd PhD abi@archwayheritage.co.uk
Abi is committed to inspiring sustainable practices that safeguard heritage assets for the future. She bridges academic research with practical implementation through consultancy work. Her base of operations is in Surfleet, Lincolnshire, and she is a Professor at Nottingham University (Business School at the University of Nottingham). Abi works with community groups and lectures; her consultancy work incorporates these skills. Her consultancy work includes:

Historic building reports

Evaluation planning for heritage projects
Feasibility and business plans for churches
Heritage interpretation
Community development through events
Archaeological case studies

Associate Consultant

Louise Roe BA (Hons)
Louise is a consultant and Fundraising Officer, focusing on grant and bid writing for Nene Park Trust, Peterborough. She is passionate about empowering communities to unlock the potential of their local heritage. Through hands-on projects and activities, she fosters collaborative engagement to commemorate and continue the stories of historic places. Her work includes:

Community development through events

Community education through long-term projects
Data management and reporting
Project management
Risk assessment and management
Communication

Recommendations

“Having worked with Mary on a number of projects, we have seen how quickly she gets to grips with complicated briefs, and with the wide ranging and particular requirements of different sorts of constraints and opportunities associated with heritage. In the case of this project, currently under planning consideration, working with the wider project team was key to delivery, which she did personally and ably throughout the project.” – Client Team

“Mary responded to project needs with high quality work and the required level of detail in her reports, she was extremely understanding of our clients aims and objectives. We have found Mary’s inputs and focus of very considerable assistance to both ourselves and our clients and she was integral in allowing the project to progress.” – Planning Consultant Back to top

“I highly recommend Archway Heritage. They are very professional and have a vast amount of experience in heritage. A special thank you to Mary who came out for the site visit and wrote out a extensive heritage report to assist with my planning application. The whole process was a pleasure and made easy throughout. I will most definitely be working with archway heritage again on my next project”. – Homeowners

“Mary provides professional advisory services and write support is assessing impacts and benefits of developments from the perspective of the Historic Environment. She has accumulated a range of skills in built Heritage and archaeology, the breath that experience is most helpful in identifying issues and resolving them.” – Client Team

“Thanks for your help on this project. The Conservation Officer praises your report … I mentioned your work to my colleagues, and so I am sure we will be coming to you for further fee proposals.” – Principal Planner

“Mary responded to project needs with high quality work and the required level of detail in her reports. We have found Mary’s inputs and focus of very considerable assistance to both ourselves and joint clients and we have been able to rely upon her sound practical advice at all times.” – Client Team

“I am delighted to confirm that the application for planning permission was granted today. Thank you very much for all your hard work that went in to achieving this result.” – Planning Director

“Mary is professional, measured in her approach and enthusiastic about heritage. She is extremely knowledgeable about heritage requirements, but more importantly meets those requirements efficiently so that her clients get what they need.” – Client Team

“The scheme was unanimously granted planning consent. A big thank you to everyone who worked on the project, especially given the challenging timescales.” – Senior Planning Consultant

“We engaged with Archway Heritage as part of our planning application when we required a heritage report to determine whether our house, that we planned to demolish and replace, was a non-designated heritage asset. This requirement was an unexpected outcome of our pre-planning application but useful in ensuring the avoidance of unexpected delays and conditions when we go into the full application process. We feel lucky to have engaged Mary’s service; we found Archway Heritage to provide a professional, thorough and detailed service without being pedantic. Succinct communication ensured reports were completed on time and to the quoted cost. I would therefore recommend Archway Heritage to anybody who finds themselves in a similar position.” – Homeowners

“Mary provided invaluable guidance on the intricate matters surrounding curtilage. Leveraging her knowledge and extensive experience, she adeptly steered us through the complexities of the planning process and a series of site meetings. Mary utilised existing research and supplemented it with additional insights as required. Her approach was marked by efficiency, and she proactively drove the planning and consultation process forward, ensuring timely progress. It has been an absolute pleasure working with her, and we anticipate continuing our fruitful collaboration in the future.” Richard Mussell, BSc (Hons) Dip Surv MRICS, Managing Director at RUND

Mission

Our mission is to:

Unlock the potential of historic places for communities and businesses.
Decision-making informed through research and analysis.
Collaborative solutions to balance heritage with development.
Inspire sustainable practices that honour the past while safeguarding the future.

“Navigating heritage complexities for a sustainable future building brighter futures, rooted in the past”

At archway heritage, we’re passionate about empowering projects with expert heritage solutions. For over 20 years, we’ve helped homeowners and industry leaders like developers, planning consultants, architects, and local authorities – including Historic England – to navigate the unique challenges of heritage.

Whether you’re a seasoned developer tackling a large-scale project or a homeowner seeking guidance for your historic property, we’re here to help.

Vision

Archway heritage is poised for transformative growth, expanding its heritage expertise to better serve diverse client needs across sectors. What began as Mary’s sole proprietorship is evolving into a collaborative enterprise that harnesses the specialised skills of Abi and Louise.

For third sector charities and local authorities, archway heritage’s expanded team unlocks exciting new opportunities for community-driven heritage projects. Our broadened expertise allows for innovative collaborations that tap into each consultant’s specialised strengths.

Partnership working

Working together with Ultranyx and the Built Heritage Consultancy on the Reading Historic Area Assessment, we have demonstrated the benefits of collaborative working.

Archway Heritage project managed the delivery. Reading Civic Society support enabled a small number of volunteers to partake in some of the building surveying. Ultranyx developed a mobile app and web application for the collection of building-level data, which our volunteer surveyors described as ‘super easy’. The app allowed Archway Heritage to record the buildings and streets with speed. Our accurate collection of records included photographic information to generate a heritage geospatial database. Over 200 maps were created by Ultranyx as part of the geospatial analysis for the report. Collectively we analysed this data to produce our assessment.

During the next stage, Archway Heritage assessed the archaeology of the town and Reading Prison and delineated character areas within the town to enable more detailed assessment. Built Heritage Consultancy provided expertise in architectural history and planning policy recommendations and together with Archway Heritage led consultation process with the local Conservation Area Advisory Committee and the Reading UK BID team. Archway Heritage and Built Heritage Consultancy utilised Ultranyx’s work to assess the character of the town centre and forward recommendations for future actions, supported by the evidence we gathered.

We look forward to seeing the project progressing to the next stage.

Unlocking potential through heritage expertise

Meet the team

Manager and Senior Consultant

Associate Consultant

Associate Consultant

Recommendations

Mission

Vision

Partnership working