Doncaster Local Plan

Doncaster Local Plan Heritage Impact Assessment: Methodology and Assessment of Sites June 2018 Site Selection and Heritage Impact Assessment 1. Introduction The Local Plan is the borough’s strategy to deliver sustainable development through the planning system. It includes a strategy for the allocation of land for housing, light industry and manufacturing, distribution warehousing and minerals during the course of the plan period. The purpose of this Heritage Impact Assessment is to support the Local Plan by demonstrating how the historic environment has been considered in the site selection process and to assess the likely impact on heritage assets, both designated and undesignated; and whether or how, any harm can be mitigated. 2. Doncaster and its Heritage Assets Archaeological evidence shows that there was human activity in the Doncaster area from prehistoric times. Doncaster’s origins as a town, though, date from Roman times as ‘Danum’, a fortified crossing point of the River Don along the important Roman road (Ermine Street) which linked London to York. The town was rebuilt by the Normans after William I took the throne. The Normans also built castles in the Saxon settlement of Conisbrough , in Tickhill, and elsewhere in the borough. Doncaster continued to evolve as a busy market town which along with Bawtry, Thorne, Tickhill, Mexborough, and Conisbrough all provided centres for trade for the surrounding local agricultural villages. In 1248 the borough was granted a charter for Doncaster Market, which is still a thriving attraction. The town grew around the medieval St George’s church which was eventually destroyed by fire in 1853 and replaced by Sir George Gilbert Scott’s Minster in 1858, whose tower remains a distinctive landmark from many directions. During the early 1600s the Dutch Engineer Vermuyden was employed to drain much of the low-lying marshy land that existed to the East and North of the borough on the Don flood plain, in order to free up land for agriculture and reduce the risk of flooding. The scattered homesteads and villages of clay and brick in the low lying East and North of the borough contrasts with the more concentrated settlements of the Magnesian limestone ridge in the west with their random coursed rubble limestone buildings. The 18th Century saw the growth in the stagecoach trade which led to the growth in horse-breeding in the town and subsequently horse racing. The St Leger Stakes, first held in the 1770s, remains the oldest classic horse race still run at the Racecourse, a key visitor attraction in the borough. Doncaster was renowned for its rich landowners, characterised by large estates and stately homes such as Brodsworth Hall, Cusworth Hall, Cantley Manor, Nether Hall and Wheatley Hall. This wealth is reflected in these historic properties, and the 18th Century Mansion House located in the centre of the town. Doncaster capitalised upon its excellent communication links in the form of the Great North Road - the primary route from London to Edinburgh. Doncaster and Bawtry benefited particularly from this which has led to a legacy of Georgian buildings in both settlements. The 19th Century saw Doncaster evolve as an industrial centre. The railways and canals that were built in this period improved transport links and saw the town grow as a key location for locomotive and carriage works. In 1853 the Great Northern Railway Company opened its Locomotive Works – locally known as the ‘Plant Works’ – in Doncaster . For more than a century the Plant was a major employer in the town and the producer of some of the most famous locomotives in the world, including the Flying Scotsman and the Mallard. The huge expansion in the population during this period saw the rapid urbanisation of the central area through an extensive housing programme for workers. At the same time more spacious suburbs grew on the outskirts to house the town’s more prosperous classes. In the early 1900s Doncaster became a national centre for coal mining, resulting in further population growth and in-migration; the industry being the most significant employer in the area. A consequence of this growth was the development of mining communities located around the borough based around the numerous pits, sunk to exploit the rich coal seams underlying the area. The legacy of this process has resulted in Doncaster having a dispersed settlement pattern of standalone settlements outside of the main urban area. Some of these, such as Woodlands, have a distinctive planned form. Like many other parts of the country the post war period saw massive housing growth, clearance of sub-standard housing (particularly in and around the town centre) and further growth of the borough’s suburbs - including several large municipal housing estates. From the 1980s onward the mining industry declined leading to high levels of unemployment, particularly in the former mining communities, which remains today. Doncaster is now re-inventing itself in the service and tertiary industries, and capitalising upon its assets, particularly its strong communication links. This brief sketch of Doncaster’s historic development mentions references some of the most important of its heritage assets. It also illustrates its complex, rich and varied heritage which is reflected in the breadth of the borough’s designated and undesignated heritage assets. In all, the borough has around 800 listed buildings, designated nationally. In addition, there are 4 nationally registered Historic Parks and Gardens and 51 nationally designated scheduled monuments. The South Yorkshire Sites and Monuments Record hold records of archaeological finds. In addition, the borough has a rich archaeological potential particularly of the Romano-British period and the waterlogged archaeological remains at Sutton Common, Thorne Moor, and Hatfield Moor are of national importance. The variety of historic areas is reflected in its 46 conservation areas. The council has also identified a total 26 historic parks and gardens of local interest and there are numbers of undesignated historic buildings which may in the future be considered for designation as buildings of local architectural and historic interest. The aspiration in the local plan is that as part of sustainable development it can reinforce local identity and play a part in increasing the appeal of the area as a place to live, work, visit and invest in. In achieving this, the challenge is to ensure that the significance of the heritage assets which makes up the historic environment is retained for the future. 3. National Planning Policy and Legislation The rich historic landscape within the borough is described above and there is therefore the likelihood of heritage assets being affected by the sites proposed for development. Inevitably, there will be sites proposed for allocation where there is potential for conflict between development and the conservation of heritage assets. Any decisions by a local authority relating to listed buildings and their settings, conservation areas and scheduled monuments, including allocation decisions, must address the statutory considerations and satisfy the relevant policies of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The statutory duties stem from the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and include special regard to the desirability of preserving a listed building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses. For conservation area a local planning authority must pay special attention to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of that area. National planning policy, set out in the NPPF (Paragraph 126) states that local planning authorities should set out a positive strategy in their local plans for the conservation and enjoyment of the historic environment including heritage assets most at risk through neglect, decay or other threats. The NPPF requires that planning authorities deliver sustainable development by ensuring that policies and decisions concerning the historic environment; • recognise that heritage assets are a non-renewable resource; • ensure decisions are based on the nature, extent and level of significance of the affected heritage asset(s); • ensure the historic environment is integrated into planning policies, promoting place-shaping and local distinctiveness. Planning policy guidance published to support the NPPF and planning system advises that significance should be identified at an early stage using evidence and expertise and advises identifying areas of potential non-designated heritage assets with archaeological interest. 4. Historic England Guidance Historic England advice on the initial site selection methodology was that in order to demonstrate that the sites that the local planning authority is putting forward as allocations are compatible with the requirements of the NPPF (and, where relevant, the Duties under the 1990 Act) there needed to be an assessment of the likely effect that the development of these sites might have upon the historic environment. Historic England suggested that the Council undertake a Heritage Impact Assessment of all the sites which the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal identifies as being likely to affect Doncaster’s heritage assets. Such an assessment would need to evaluate:- • The contribution the site makes to the significance of any designated heritage assets in its vicinity. • What impact the development of the

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