Sustainability Statement Including Post Consultation Update Appendix C2 – Cultural Heritage a Report by Temple-RSK for HS2 Ltd
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High Speed Rail: Phase 2b Preferred Route Sustainability Statement including Post Consultation Update Appendix C2 – Cultural Heritage A report by Temple-RSK for HS2 Ltd November 2016 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 2. SCOPE AND METHOD ........................................................................................................ 1 2.1. Scope of the appraisal ............................................................................................... 1 2.2. Methodology .............................................................................................................. 1 2.3. Use of sources .......................................................................................................... 2 2.4. Evaluation criteria ...................................................................................................... 2 2.5. Assumptions and limitations ...................................................................................... 3 3. FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................. 5 3.1. Western Leg .............................................................................................................. 5 3.2. Eastern Leg ............................................................................................................. 19 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1.1. This report has been prepared to support the HS2 Sustainability Statement including Post Consultation Update, a report which describes the extent to which the Government’s preferred scheme for HS2 Phase Two supports objectives for sustainable development. This document is a technical appendix which summarises the methodology adopted and conclusions of the Cultural Heritage appraisal, informing the Sustainability Statement main report. The Sustainability Statement places emphasis on the known key impacts only at this stage in the design, prior to commencing the Environmental Impact Assessment. 2. SCOPE AND METHOD 2.1. Scope of the appraisal 2.1.1. The Cultural Heritage appraisal focused on five types of heritage asset. Scheduled Monuments, Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas are three of the five designated asset types and all three are protected by primary legislation. Registered Parks and Gardens (RPGs) and Battlefields are also designated heritage assets; however, these are not offered the same protection by statute. 2.1.2. The reasons for the exclusion of other assets of archaeological and heritage interest are set out in the ‘Assumptions and Limitations’ section below. 2.2. Methodology 2.2.1. Due to the strategic nature of the appraisal, the Appraisal of Sustainability (AoS) adopted a suite of study areas to capture an understanding of the potential heritage assets that could be impacted. This included the following, with distances measured from the edge of the extent of the proposed operational earthworks: Registered Battlefields and Registered Parks and Gardens within 1km; Conservation Areas within 500m; and Listed Buildings and Scheduled Monuments within 350m. 2.2.2. There are a small number of designated assets that lie within expansive and open landscapes outside of these study areas and these assets could be sensitive to some forms of change. These comprised Bolsover Castle, Towton Battlefield and Hickleton Hall. Therefore these assets have been included within the appraisal. 2.2.3. Impacts arising from the operational footprint of the preferred route (including stations and depots) were considered. These were divided into two categories, direct impacts and setting impacts. Direct impacts arise from physical impacts to the asset. Setting impacts arise from changes to the surroundings of an asset which contribute to its heritage significance and changes to the way in which significance is experienced. This appraisal has not considered impacts that may arise from construction works and other associated ancillary works. Page 1 2.3. Use of sources 2.3.1. Geospatial digital mapping data and associated text descriptions on Listed Buildings, Scheduled Monuments, Registered Battlefields and Registered Parks and Gardens (RPGs) were derived from Historic England. 2.3.2. The Conservation Area boundaries were obtained from the relevant local planning authorities and digitised by the project team in order to create mappable GIS data. 2.3.3. Further information on the significance of heritage assets was obtained from readily accessible on-line sources which typically comprised Conservation Area Appraisals and Conservation Management Plans for RPGs. 2.3.4. More detailed Scheduled Monument descriptions were available on-line through the National Heritage List for England maintained by Historic England. For some assets, the list contained only the briefest of descriptions - or occasionally no substantive data at all - and in these cases the data was augmented by on-line Historic Environment Records held by County or Unitary authorities. Additional information on battlefields was gathered through the website of The Battlefield Trust. 2.3.5. The key source of information for appraising the potential impacts on both heritage and archaeological assets was the GIS mapping. The preferred route, including earthworks data and route buffers, were supplied by HS2 Ltd in a GIS format. Buffers for the 350m, 500m and 1km study areas boundaries were created to help capture the relevant information. 2.3.6. Plan and profile drawings for the route alignments were also made available to support the appraisal process, to better understand how the proposed route would change the landscape and townscapes. On-line aerial images, Google ‘streetviews’ and specific images of heritage assets were also used to assist the appraisal, alongside site visits to selected locations. 2.4. Evaluation criteria 2.4.1. Section 3 of this Appendix lists and describes all of the designated heritage assets that lie within the study areas referred to in Section 2-2. The potential impacts are presented for the western and eastern legs respectively, south to north in terms of each heritage designation. 2.4.2. For the purposes of this appraisal a simple four tiered approach to presenting the scale of impacts has been adopted. These adverse impacts comprise Major, Moderate, Minor and No Impact, as summarised in Table 2-1. Table 2-1 – Cultural Heritage Evaluation Scale Scale of Example description of impact adverse impact Major A change such that the significance of the asset is totally altered or destroyed (e.g. demolition of a structure). A comprehensive change to the setting of an asset affecting its significance such that relevant elements of its historic context can no longer be experienced or understood. Moderate A change that adversely affects key elements of the significance of a heritage asset. Changes to the setting of an asset that compromises our ability to experience or understand its significance. Page 2 Scale of Example description of impact adverse impact Minor A change that affects the significance of a heritage asset, such as one that perceptibly alters part (or parts) of its setting. Although the nature of this change will affect the way in which its significance is experienced, our ability to understand its historical context is unaffected. No impact1 The change will not result in any impact on the significance of the asset or the way in which it is experienced. 2.4.3. The adoption of a methodology that focuses on the impacts of the change on the significance of heritage assets ensures that a far more robust appraisal is presented than one that is derived purely from associating the scale of impact with the proximity of the scheme to the asset. Some heritage assets that lie relatively close to the scheme can be unaffected (or have only a minor impact), while greater impacts can come to heritage assets that lie further afield from the scheme but where the change is directed towards its significance. This approach is aligned with industry good practice. 2.4.4. The main report of the AoS focuses on those heritage assets that are likely to be most greatly affected by the preferred route (those that are appraised as being Major or Moderate impacts). 2.5. Assumptions and limitations Assumptions 2.5.1. It was assumed that there would be no impact on any heritage assets located along the line of the scheme where the route was within bored tunnel. It has been assumed that no substantive impacts would arise from vibration or settlement. 2.5.2. It was assumed that the Conservation Area datasets received is up to date. Limitations 2.5.3. Inevitably given the strategic nature of the AoS process, the appraisal is relatively high level and should not be confused with a full and detailed environmental impact assessment. The level of detail of the appraisal is commensurate with the data available and the strategic nature of the preferred route. Work has relied primarily on desk study supported by a number of site visits. 2.5.4. It was not always possible to make a robust appraisal of the impacts on a heritage asset using available on-line imagery. Aerial imagery only presents a single perspective of the landscape / townscape and not one that forms a meaningful contribution to the understanding of the ‘experience’ of an asset. Google Streetview images do not cover all roads, particularly minor roads or lanes can be absent; and hedgerows and other built form can often obscured views