CONTENTS
Page
Built Environment History of Standon Parish 2 - 3 Built Environment 3 - 9 Heritage Assets 9 - 11 Listed Buildings 12 – 39 -Designated Heritage Assets and Asset of Community Value 39 - 42 Archaeology 43 – 44 Natural Environment Landscape 44 - 49 The Chalk Rivers 49 - 51 Wildlife and Habitats (includes ancient woodlands) 51 - 56 SSSI’s 56 - 57 Green Infrastructure 57 - 59 Soil and Agricultural Land Quality 59 - 60 Sustainability Sustainable Development 61 - 65 Climate Change 65 - 74 Environmental Quality 74 - 76
Rights of Way
Footpaths and Bridleways 77 - 78 List of PROW 79 - 88
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Built Environment
History of Standon Parish
Standon was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Today, the parish covers a large area, one of the biggest in the Hundred Parishes, incorporating the villages of Standon and Puckeridge and also the hamlets of Barwick, Colliers End, Latchford and Wellpond Green.
Standon, Latchford and Barwick grew up beside the River Rib, which meanders from north to south through the middle of the parish. Puckeridge and Colliers End developed alongside Ermine Street, the old Roman road from London to Lincoln and York that later became a busy coaching route, especially serving London and Cambridge. A second Roman highway, Stane Street, ran between Colchester and St Albans, crossing Ermine Street at a Roman town whose location was close to the present northern parish boundary with Braughing, a boundary that is today largely defined by the old route of Stane Street. Wellpond Green is a relatively new residential hamlet.
Much of Stane Street has become today’s A120, with a diversion that now runs to the south of Puckeridge. This distant view of Standon Church can be enjoyed from the A120 when approaching from the west.
Today, it is hard to imagine that as traffic descended into Standon on the A120 it would often be halted at a railway level crossing.
This served the Buntingford Line which crossed here, close to Standon Flour Mill. The crossing went when the line closed in the 1960s after 100 years of operation, and the mill has been converted into flats.
The centre of Standon lies immediately south of the A120, yet it is probably unknown to most drivers who pass by. Just off that busy main road is a different world, a short High Street with a choice of shops and pubs. The street is wide, a reminder that this had been the venue for regular markets since the 13th century. The parish church dates from that time, built mostly in the 13th and 14th centuries.
The church is listed as Grade I, primarily for its interior which includes a lavishly- carved chancel arch, an interesting 13th-century font and imposing memorials to Sir Ralph Sadleir (1507 – 1587) and his son, Sir Thomas. See SNP12 Amenities Report
Sir Ralph Sadleir was a senior statesman, serving both Henry VIII and later Elizabeth I, including a spell as gaoler of Mary, Queen of Scots. Resting beside his tomb is the flagpole he retrieved from the 1547 Battle of Pinkie Cleugh. The pole
2 once bore the standard of the Scottish army that suffered a resounding defeat in the battle against the English army, with the loss of six thousand men. The home of the Sadleirs was Standon Lordship, a little south of the village, down the Rib valley across the Laundry Meadows.
The parish has a total of 150 listed buildings, more than half dating from before 1700 AD. They are spread all over the parish, those in Standon High Street, include Knights Court. It was once a manorial courthouse and then served as a school for about 400 years until its closure around 1980, when it was converted into homes. Opposite, beneath the oak tree, stands a Hertfordshire puddingstone, formed during one of the Ice Ages and left here by a retreating glacier.
Standon is on the south side of the A120, with Puckeridge on the north. Once separate communities, Puckeridge and Standon have coalesced and now form the core of the single administrative parish of Standon.
Puckeridge has its fair share of heritage buildings. Later, when the High Street could no longer cope with the ever increasing volume of motor traffic, Puckeridge was bypassed in the 1970s. The village continued to expand and today Puckeridge is the main centre of population for the parish of Standon.
Puckeridge had grown over the centuries, holding a regular fair and market from the 14th century and later servicing the passing coach traffic on Ermine Street, its many inns providing accommodation and a change of horses. The 17th-century diarist, Samuel Pepys, sometimes stayed at one of Puckeridge’s many inns, possibly the 16th-century Falcon – now renamed the Crown and Falcon.
At the southern end of the parish, the A10 passed through Colliers End. There was a campaign for many years before this hamlet was eventually bypassed in 2004.
Between Colliers End and Puckeridge, just off the A1170 at Old Hall Green, is St Edmund’s College, a Roman Catholic school that was first established here in 1759. Its imposing main building was erected in the 1790s. See SNP12 Amenities Report
Standon parish offers many attractive opportunities for the fit walker. Several well-defined, long paths cross it, including the Harcamlow Way which often runs close to the River Rib at Latchford on the left and Barwick Ford on the right.
Built Environment
Conservation
The following is East Herts Council review of the Conservation Areas of Standon and Puckeridge:-
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Standon http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/conservationareas
The above Appraisal was adopted in 2013.
Conservation Areas are environments which are considered worthy of protection as a result of a combination of factors such as the quality of design and setting of the buildings or their historic significance. In addition to the individual qualities of the buildings themselves, there are other factors such as the relationships of the buildings with each other, the quality of the spaces between them and the vistas and views that unite or disrupt them. The relationship with adjoining areas and landscape, the quality of trees, boundary treatments, advertisements, road signage, street furniture and hard surfaces, are also important features which can add to or detract from the Conservation Area
Conservation Appraisal identifies the special character of Standon; Identifies elements that should be retained or enhanced; Identifies detracting elements; Reviews the existing boundary; Puts forward practical enhancement proposals.
In relation to the historic environment the National Planning Policy Framework https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-planning-policy- framework--2 advises as follows:
There should be a positive strategy in the Local Plan for the conservation of the historic environment and up-to-date evidence used to assess the significance of heritage assets and the contribution they make.
Conservation areas must justify such a status by virtue of being of ‘special architectural or historic interest’.
A Heritage asset is defined as ‘a building, monument, site, place, area or landscape identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions, because of its heritage interest. Heritage asset includes designated heritage assets and assets identified by the local planning authority (including local listings)’.
Considerable weight should be given to conserving such heritage assets and the more important they are the greater the weight. For example the effect of a development proposal on a non- designated heritage asset should be taken into account and a balanced judgment reached. Substantial harm to or loss of a grade II Listed Building should be exceptional whilst harm to heritage assets of higher status, e.g. a grade I or II* Listed Building should be wholly exceptional.
Green areas of particular importance can properly be identified for special protection as Local Green Spaces in selected situations.
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East Herts Council also has a ‘Buildings at Risk Register’ originally produced in 2006 and updated in 2012/13 by www.historicengland.org.uk. In relation to Standon Parish there are several buildings entered on the Register as being ‘at risk’ although there are none located in the Standon Conservation Area.
Standon Conservation Area was first designated in 1968 and most recently in 2000.
The County Archaeologist advises that Standon was part of the late Iron Age and Roman landscape. Two Roman coins, one of Carausius and another of Tetricus were found in the garden of a Mill End Cottage in the late 19th century. Tetricus was Emperor of the Gallic Empire, 271-274 AD whilst Carausius declared himself Emperor of Britain, minting his own coins and giving birth to a brief period in antiquity known as the Carausian Revolt, 286-296 AD.
During restoration of St. Mary’s church in the 19th century earlier foundations were revealed suggesting the presence of a previous Saxon church.
Domesday Book refers to the manorial holding as being Standone and its first reference to being a medieval borough dates to the mid-13th century. At the time of the Domesday survey in 1086 it was the fourth largest town in Hertfordshire. At this time Standone is recorded as having a priest, 5 mills, about 6 acres of vineyard and extensive woodlands. This comparative wealth and prosperity and success as a market town continued through the medieval period until the 14th century, at which time, nearby settlements such as Buntingford, better located on Ermine Street, grew rapidly. To such a degree in fact that Edward III was petitioned by the Lord of Standon Manor to revoke Buntingford Market, an action that proved only partly successful. Standon Market had lapsed about the mid-17th century as had a subsequent market and fairs by the early 18th century.
Standon as seen today, consisted earlier and in part of properties or ‘burgages’ in which the merchant or burgess lived. The market was held in Standon High Street and the Fair Ground on the current playing fields/open space to the east of the High Street. The size of the church is an indication of local prosperity and the nearby Knights Court may have been a hospice of the Knights Hospitallers or may have held a manorial courthouse to grant leases of the Manor.
Most listed buildings date from the 17th century or earlier. As can be observed buildings of this period and also from the 18th century were frequently altered or renovated or refaced in the 19th century.
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During the 17th and 18th centuries, agriculture predominated although some industry was present and by way of example the water mill on Paper Mill Lane was manufacturing paper during the early 18th century.
Agriculture still predominated in the 19th century but other industry in the form of a flour mill (Standon New Mill) was built in 1901 and was connected to the Old Mill on the other side of the River Rib. A railway was constructed in 1863 as part of the Great Eastern network, being the St. Margarets to Buntingford line. This line closed to passengers in 1964, as recommended in the Beeching Report. Freight traffic on the line ceased in 1965.
Interesting features during this period included the railway line and station; a Windmill to the south of Hadham Road, opposite the Almshouses; a school for Boys and Girls at Knights Court; the Paper Mill at Paper Mill Lane; a Corn Mill at Mill End; a brewery at Mill End; a large building called The Vicarage opposite New Street Farm on New Street (now Kents Lane) and a Smithy on the High Street.
The adopted Conservation Area is clearly defined and separated from the modern development to the north and is now composed of four main identity areas:-
Area A - Consists of the very attractive and historic High Street bounded by the River Rib in the west and includes the eastern part of Paper Mill Lane and the western section of Hadham Road, The latter two roads, different in name only, effectively form a physical continuation of the High Street. Land south of Paper Mill Lane relates more to the open countryside than to the built environment and no longer forms part of the Conservation Area.
Area B – Consists of Mill End, north of Stortford Road and including the converted Flour Mill, is an area of mixed land uses that the Village Study describes as being an ‘interesting reminder of the days when workers lived…in the shadow of their work place’.
Area C – Consists of agricultural land and associated buildings, south of Kents Lane extending to Paper Mill Lane and including the industrial complex between the River Rib and the old railway line. The agricultural land in this area relates more to the open countryside than to the built environment. (The industrial complex and some agricultural land to the west no longer forms part of the conservation area.)
Area D - Consists of quality late 19th century housing to the south of Stortford Road.
Summary overview for whole Conservation Area.
Standon Conservation Area is of a very high quality with a particularly rich and well documented history containing a wide range of Listed Buildings and other
6 buildings and distinctive features of quality that should be preserved. In these respects the varied roofline and other spatial qualities of the High Street are worthy of particular note. The high quality of the built environment is enhanced by open spaces and trees, parts of which can be appreciated from selected important viewpoints. The buildings and overall environment is generally well preserved and there are few opportunities to secure worthy improvements. In this respect the most necessary would be an improvement to the existing entrance of the industrial complex, whose poor quality is most noticeable and which seriously detracts.
In terms of new development some mid/late 20th century residential infill could have been more sympathetically designed but on the other hand conversions of a later date, particularly Standon Mill have been particularly well executed. Some areas, including buildings of the industrial estate and other areas considered to form part of the open countryside should be excluded whilst late 19th century houses south of Stortford Road are recommended to be included within the Conservation Area.
Revised Conservation Area Boundary.
The revised boundaries include the following amendments. a) Include nos.22-48 Stortford Road within the Conservation Area. b) Exclude countryside to south of Paper Mill Lane. c) Exclude open countryside to rear of New Street House and farm office and west of River Rib extending to south of Paper Mill House.
Also remove commercial buildings of the industrial estate as they are of not of ‘special or historic interest’. It is emphasized such removal will not lead to any increased pressures for inappropriate development.
Puckeridge http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/conservationareas
The above Appraisal was adopted in 2013.
Puckeridge Conservation Area was first designated in 1968 and most recently in 2000.
Origins and historic development: Late Iron Age pottery was found in a ditch running parallel to Ermine Street near the former PH, the Buffalo’s Head and also at other locations.
Puckeridge itself was situated on Ermine Street, a Roman Road of importance between London and York. At a point in open countryside, a short distance to the
7 west of the White Hart PH, Ermine Street was joined by another Roman Road, Stane Street, which connected to Colchester and also by another road striking out in a north easterly direction towards the important Roman settlement in the Great Chesterford area. Roman roads linked military and administrative centres and were not necessarily originally built to facilitate trade. Some were engineered versions of earlier routes becoming links between local towns where minor settlements grew up alongside them. Roman forts are not known in Hertfordshire as they were not needed. Puckeridge receives a mention in The Oxford History of England’s ‘Roman Britain’ published in 1981. This reports the presence of a rectangular cemetery enclosure marked by a ditch and bank that contained ‘60 cremations apparently associated with a Roman settlement abandoned about AD 80 which had succeeded an Iron Age site. Most of the burials had three or more pots and a pair of hob nailed boots, some had glass containers or metal fitted wooden caskets’. The presence of these hobnailed boots may have been part of a funerary practice.
The Scheduled Ancient Monument description of the site to the immediate north of the Conservation Area (of which the triangle of land north of the White Hart PH forms part) identified, following excavations in 1969, the presence of Roman walls and 4th century coins together with pre Roman occupation and burials.
Hertfordshire County Council records describe that an archaeological trench cut through the Roman road of Ermine Street established it was 20 feet wide and 2 feet 6 inches thick, with ditches containing late Iron Age/ early Roman platters and storage jars, Samian and Castor ware, a coin of Tetricus, two bronze pins, a piece of sheet bronze, and a scrap of leather. Occupation north of the road included pits and signs of timber buildings. The site is dated 50 AD to 410AD.
Puckeridge Conservation Area as largely seen today consists of buildings dating from the 16th century with approximately 30% of the listed buildings in the Conservation Area dating from this period with a further 25% from the 17th century.
A map of 1874 shows a rural settlement, very similar in extent to the existing Conservation Area and completely separated from Standon. Whilst Station Road connecting the two communities existed at this time, this area was open countryside, south of which was an isolated building annotated School (Boys& Girls). The latter is now two dwellings, 22 and 24 Station Road, but has a prominent plaque describing its former use. Land between High Street and Station Road (Poor’s Land) and land north of Station Road (Fisher’s Mead) was owned by Standon Charity. Poor’s land was generally owned by a charity, the proceeds of which benefited the poor of the Parish. The same map shows a brickfield and limekiln to the south of Mentley Lane East. By this time the Congregation Chapel
8 and burial ground in the south of the village had been built, adjacent to a School for Boys and Girls on the site of the existing Primary School, St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic School.
Little had changed by 1897 although a map of that date identifies the presence of a brewery on land between High Street and Tollsworth Road.
A map dating from 1920 shows an Iron Foundry east of the High Street in the general area of nos. 25-31 and also shows that development had commenced along Station Road with the construction of housing and Century Hall (still in existence). By this time allotments were established between High Street and Station Road.
Mapping dating from 1963 shows the presence of a garage on what is now Cannon’s Court and a Caravan Park on what is now Tollsworth Way.
Kelly’s Post Office Directory of Hertfordshire dated 1874 http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/directories/directories-kelly.htm lists the following trades for Puckeridge: blacksmith, iron founder, builder, market gardener, watch maker, grocer, surgeon, 2 grocer/drapers, horse clipper, wheelwright, brewer, draper/shoemaker, builder/brick maker, plumber/painter, cooper, veterinary surgeon, harness maker, butcher, shoemaker, grocer and tailor, 2 beer retailers, carpenter and builder and 2 bakers. Public Houses listed at this time were the Chequers, Crown and Falcon, Buffalo’s Head, White Hart, Woolpack, Anchor and Rising Sun. In common with other rural communities of the time this range of trades displays a considerable degree of local inter dependence and self- sufficiency.
There is a significant Scheduled Ancient Monument principally to the north and east of the Conservation Area. A small part of the scheduled site lies within the Conservation Area itself, being the triangle of unused land immediately to the north of the White Hart PH. The track (referred to by signage as a Gated Road) forms the eastern boundary of this triangle and is excluded from the designation. Scheduled Ancient Monuments are protected by law as sites of national importance where ground disturbance cannot take place without consent.
Areas of Archaeological Significance. Nearly the entirety of the Puckeridge Conservation Area is so designated; the exceptions being two areas at the southern extremity. Not all archaeological sites are of equal importance and the Council will decide a course of action that may vary from recording any remains prior to development or protecting it from development, when determining planning applications.
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Within the Conservation Area there is a Wildlife Site south of Mentley Lane East that is described below.
The Conservation Area is long and linear being composed of the High Street and extended in the north by the continuation of Buntingford Road. Both southern and northern ends enjoy proximity to the open countryside as opposed the central section of High Street which is hemmed in by the A10 road and modern development at Lunardi Court, Tollsworth Way and Huntsman Close to the west and Station Road and Park Lane to the east. Within this latter area there is some 19th century development but its scattered nature and the manner in which it is dominated by modern development excludes consideration of extending the Conservation Area into this location.
Puckeridge Conservation Area is situated between the Upper Rib valley area to the east and the Puckeridge Parklands to the west. The latter area contains three parklands including that around St Edmunds College. Notwithstanding the proximity of surrounding 20th century development, Puckeridge Conservation Area is clearly defined and visually separate and distinctive.
There are about 175 Listed Buildings in the Parish as a whole including Standon, 15 of which are Grade II*. There are only two Grade I Listings, one being St Mary’s church in Standon and the other is the Pugin Chapel at St Edmunds College, Old Hall Green.
Nearly 40 of the above total are concentrated in Puckeridge High Street and its northern extension, Buntingford Road. One of these is listed Grade II* namely 54 - 60 High Street that dates from the 16th century. Buildings from the 16th-19th centuries are represented. Approximately 35% date from the 18th century; 30% from the 16th century, 25% from the 17th century and 10% from the 19th century.
Trees in the grounds of the former Congregational Church, hedgerows defining the playing fields of St Thomas Primary School, trees south of Mentley Lane East and trees and hedgerows north of the White Hart Inn add to the quality of the Conservation Area in these locations. Elsewhere the streetscape is very urban in character with an absence of trees and vegetation. See SNP12 Amenities Report.
The central and northern parts of the Conservation Area are of high quality with continuous groupings of Listed Buildings on both sides of the High Street.
Their varied heights, use of traditional materials, irregular roofscapes surmounted by distinctive chimneys provide an urban streetscape of considerable quality and variety.
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An important feature of some of the residential buildings is a number of distinctive windows at ground floor, previously used for shopping display. These are important in terms of their previous historical use and existing visual quality. A traffic management scheme introduced into the High Street consists of bollards to protect property and chicanes to reduce speed. There would seem to be a wide spectrum of local opinion as to its effectiveness. However it is not too visually disruptive. Modern 20th century development opposite Huntsman Close could have been more sympathetically designed as some dormers detract. Nevertheless the use of materials and varied roofline is pleasing here although the opportunity to provide chimneys was lost.
The northern end of the Conservation Area is enhanced by a triangular area of unused open land with quality trees and hedgerows that is part of a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The southern section of the Conservation Area south of Tollsworth Way junction with High Street is of lesser quality where the character of a number of unlisted 19th century properties have unfortunately been eroded by alterations and additions to a degree that they cannot be classified as qualifying as being buildings that make an important architectural or historic contribution. Modern infill north of the former Buffalo’s Head PH is successful and does not detract. Small design details such as the provision of chimneys (which critically could have been more robust) and railings to front are pleasing. The former Buffalo’s Head and the former Congregational Church and its burial ground are of historical importance and add to the visual quality of the Conservation Area in this location. On balance it is considered appropriate that this southern area remains within the Conservation Area.
Important open land, open spaces and gaps. There are four such areas of particular importance that contribute to the general special quality and visual importance of the Conservation Area.
Triangle of land north of the White Hart Inn. This area represents an environment of high quality in which mature trees and native hedgerows combine with landform to make an important natural asset different in character to the open nature of the countryside that surrounds it. Some modest amounts of rubbish have been dumped that detract. A metalled path, referred to by notice as a ‘gated road’, defines the eastern boundary. It is well used by pedestrians but does not appear to be one that is formally identified as a public footpath. The area forms part of the larger Scheduled Ancient Monument site to the north and east.
The burial ground associated with the Puckeridge Evangelical Congregational Chapel. This burial ground is a small area of tranquil open space and is of
11 particular interest because of its interesting tombstones and traditional mature graveyard trees. See SNP12 Amenities Report.
Playing Fields associated with the Primary School. These are important open spaces at the edge of the Conservation Area performing an important role in providing playing fields and defining the edges of built development in this part of the village.
The open grassland south of Mentley Lane East is a designated Wildlife Site.
Its importance is that the former Lime Kiln and environs is important for Protected Species. Brown Long Eared bats, Daubenton’s Bat, Natterer’s Bat and Whiskered Bat have been recorded. Officers from Hertfordshire Biological Records Centre advise that ‘this Wildlife Site is very important for bats.’
Hedgerows on both the northern and southern extremities of the Conservation Area are particularly important, a fact reflected in the manner in which the Conservation Area boundary has been drawn. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report.
Important views. Looking both north and south along the High Street provides important views of the high quality historic built environment.
Looking from the gated road that forms the boundary to land previously described, provides attractive views of a fragmented natural environment with extensive tree and hedge cover and an adjacent open agricultural landscape. See SNP5 Views and Open Spaces Report.
Heritage Assets
Heritage assets make a valuable contribution to the areas economic and social wellbeing. Heritage assets include a building, monument, site, place, area or landscape positively identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions. Heritage assets are the valued components of the historic environment. They include designated heritage assets and non- designated assets identified by the local planning authority.
In addition to those heritage assets that are statutorily protected, non- designated assets can be identified by the Local Planning Authority if they are considered to be of local significance. Significance refers to the value of a historic asset to this and future generations because of its heritage interest. That interest may be archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic. Significance derives not only from the heritage asset’s physical presence, but also its setting. Significance will be measured in terms of how the asset meets the following five criteria: Rarity
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Representativeness Aesthetic appeal Integrity Association
Further information and good practice on the identification of non-designated heritage assets is available on the Historic England website at: www.historicengland.org.uk
Standon Parish is rich in archaeological sites, containing no less than 16 areas designated as being of archaeological significance and one scheduled ancient monument, the Roman Town at Wickham Hill.
The Scheduled Ancient Monument is principally to the north and east of the Conservation Area. A small part of the scheduled site lies within the Conservation Area itself, being the triangle of unused land immediately to the north of the White Hart PH. Scheduled Ancient Monuments are protected by law as sites of national importance where ground disturbance cannot take place without consent.
The settlement was a major centre for importing luxury goods from the Roman Empire in the period between the expedition of Julius Caesar to Britain (55-54BC) and the Roman invasion (AD43), and is one of the most important Iron Age sites in Britain. A Roman town succeeded the late Iron Age settlement soon after the Roman invasion and its remains lie on Wickham Hill. The site is nationally important and therefore, is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Sites along the Rib valley to the North of Standon and Puckeridge have yielded Romano- British finds. Standon and Braughing continued to be important settlements after the departure of the Romans in AD410 and by the time of the Norman Conquest Standon had achieved the status of a medieval Borough.
The County Archaeologist reports that the Parish contains some of the most important archaeological remains in Hertfordshire. An extensive settlement dating to the late Iron Age (100BC to AD43) lies between the villages of Standon and Braughing, covering an area in excess of two hundred hectares.
Monuments in Parish Church of St. Mary, Standon This building is especially interesting on account of the fine chancel arch of early 13th-century date, the Field tomb, with 15th-century brasses, in the N. aisle, and the Sadleir tombs, of the 16th and 17th centuries, in the chancel. Monuments: on N. side of chancel, large, marble, of Sir Thomas Sadleir, died 1606, and his wife, recumbent effigies in a large round-headed recess; on the base, figures of son and daughter and two heraldic shields: on the S. side of chancel, of Sir Ralph Sadleir, died 1587, with his effigy in armour; on the side, figures of three
13 sons and four daughters, with heraldic shields. Suspended above the monument, two helmets, a sword, stirrups, halberd, spurs, etc., and standard of a banner, said to have been captured by Sir Ralph from the King of Scotland at Musselburgh. In the N. aisle, altar tomb, plain stone sides, with indents for three shields; in marble slab at the top, two brass figures, of a man in robes of an alderman of London, said to be John Field, died 1474, with small figures of two sons and daughter below; of his son John, in armour, with arms of Field on his tabard, two sons and two daughters below; at corners of slab, four shields with arms of the City of London, of the Staple of Calais, a merchant's mark and arms of Field; inscription at side, with alderman's name and date of son's death missing. In the vestry, mural tablet to Anne, daughter of Sir Edward Coke, wife of Ralph Sadleir, 1660. In E. wall of chancel, outside, tomb of Richard Sadleir, undated. in S. wall of chancel, partly destroyed by the Sadleir monument of 1587, 15th-century: against the E. wall of N. aisle, ancient, with sill of unusually great projection: in S. aisle, with moulded jambs and head, mid-14th-century. In a modern recess in the S. aisle, ancient stone Coffin, without lid. See SNP12 Amenities Report. The Standon Puddingstone The Standon Pudding Stone on the corner of Paper Mill Lane is not in its original site. It was moved to its present site in 1904 from outside the Star pub, but before this it may have stood on the site of the present church as a ‘great stone’ or meeting place where ancient Britons would gather to decide matters of interest to the community.
The plaque states: "This stone is a conglomerate of glacial origin, sometimes called 'breeding stone'. It was formerly incorporated in the wall of the churchyard. It is thought possible that the stone might have marked a prehistoric, tribal, religious meeting place and that the early Christians therefore chose the same site on which to build the church. The stone was placed here in 1904 by the Rev. W. d'A. Crofton, then curate-in-charge of the parish. The adjacent oak tree was planted in 1911 by Miss Kate Smith to commemorate the coronation of King George V." For more information see www.walkinginherts.co.uk/hertford.php
Milestones and Meridian Markers
The Parish of Standon straddles the Greenwich Meridian which is marked in several places by Meridian Markers, one of which is located in the NE corner of the grounds of St Edmunds College and can be seen from the C184 and the road to Dane End. The Parish of Standon covers 2379 hectares and is bisected by the River Rib, running from North to South. It is located in the centre of the East Hertfordshire plateau, which is the largest area of open country in the county.
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Milestones are located next to south east corner of 16 High Street, Puckeridge and 120 metres north of drive to Ryders Grove, Old Hall Green.
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PARISH LISTED BUILDINGS
Standon
NEW STREET HOUSE
• List Entry Number: 1102353 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: NEW STREET HOUSE, KENT'S LANE, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
NEW STREET COTTAGE
• List Entry Number: 1307734 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: NEW STREET COTTAGE, KENT'S LANE, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
GRANARY AT NEW STREET FARM (55 METRES SOUTH SOUTH EAST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1347488 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: GRANARY AT NEW STREET FARM (55 METRES SOUTH EAST OF HOUSE), KENT'S LANE, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire,
FALCON HOUSE
• List Entry Number: 1251388 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FALCON HOUSE, 2, STORTFORD ROAD, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
TOWN FARM HOUSE (ON CORNER OF STORTFORD ROAD)
• List Entry Number: 1102312 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II
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• Location: TOWN FARM HOUSE (ON CORNER OF STORTFORD ROAD), MILL END, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
OLD MILL HOUSE (ON ISLAND BEYOND MILL BRIDGE)
• List Entry Number: 1102313 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: OLD MILL HOUSE (ON ISLAND BEYOND MILL BRIDGE), MILL END, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BARNS AT OLD MILL HOUSE (40 METRES SOUTH EAST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1307713 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BARNS AT OLD MILL HOUSE (40 METRES SOUTH EAST OF HOUSE), MILL END, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
3, MILL END, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1176801 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 3, MILL END, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BUILDING SOUTH OF NO 3
• List Entry Number: 1347489 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BUILDING SOUTH OF NO 3, MILL END, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
THE BELL PUBLIC HOUSE
• List Entry Number: 1176693
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• Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: THE BELL PUBLIC HOUSE, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
OLD POST OFFICE 13, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1176573 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: OLD POST OFFICE, 13, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
18 AND 20, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1347525 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 18 AND 20, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BARN AT NO 28 (DOWN YARD ON LEFT)
• List Entry Number: 1176702 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BARN AT NO 28 (DOWN YARD ON LEFT), HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
DERRY HOUSE AND 32, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1102349 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: DERRY HOUSE AND 32, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
ROSEND COTTAGE
• List Entry Number: 1347523 • Heritage Category: Listing
18
• Grade: II • Location: ROSEND COTTAGE, 41 AND 43, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
42, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1102350 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 42, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
45 AND 47, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1176598 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 45 AND 47, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
49 AND 51, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1102346 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 49 AND 51, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
THE OLD WINDMILL 53, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1102347 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: THE OLD WINDMILL, 53, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
LITTLE BEAR 55, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1307810 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location:
19
LITTLE BEAR, 55, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK
• List Entry Number: 1342112 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK, ON THE GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
57, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1347524 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 57, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
59, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1176629 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II* • Location: 59, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
CHURCH OF ST MARY (C OF E)
• List Entry Number: 1102348 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: I • Location: CHURCH OF ST MARY (C OF E), HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
THE STAR PUBLIC HOUSE
• List Entry Number: 1176714 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location:
20
THE STAR PUBLIC HOUSE, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
64, HIGH STREET
• List Entry Number: 1176729 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 64, HIGH STREET, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BARN AT NO 64 (ON ROADSIDE)
• List Entry Number: 1347486 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BARN AT NO 64 (ON ROADSIDE), HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
66, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1102351 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 66, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
DOURO HOUSE 68, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1307752 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: DOURO HOUSE, 68, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
70 AND 74, HIGH STREET, STANDON
• List Entry Number: 1347487 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 70 AND 74, HIGH STREET, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
21
KNIGHTS COURT
• List Entry Number: 1347492 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II* • Location: KNIGHTS COURT, HADHAM ROAD, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
THE COTTAGE (OPPOSITE KNIGHTS COURT)
• List Entry Number: 1176025 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: THE COTTAGE (OPPOSITE KNIGHTS COURT), HADHAM ROAD, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
ALMSHOUSES
• List Entry Number: 1308085 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: ALMSHOUSES, 1-5, HADHAM ROAD, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
HILLSIDE (ON HILLSIDE ABOVE ROAD OPPOSITE THE ALMSHOUSES)
• List Entry Number: 1102366 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: HILLSIDE (ON HILLSIDE ABOVE ROAD OPPOSITE THE ALMSHOUSES), HADHAM ROAD, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BLAIR COTTAGES
• List Entry Number: 1102365 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BLAIR COTTAGES, 1 AND 2, HADHAM ROAD, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
CHURCH END COTTAGES
22
• List Entry Number: 1307672 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: CHURCH END COTTAGES, 1 AND 2, PAPER MILL LANE, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BARN AND FARMBUILDINGS ADJACENT (AT ENTRANCE TO VILLAGE)
• List Entry Number: 1176894 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BARN AND FARMBUILDINGS ADJACENT (AT ENTRANCE TO VILLAGE), PAPER MILL LANE, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
PAPER MILL HOUSE
• List Entry Number: 1102320 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: PAPER MILL HOUSE, PAPER MILL LANE, STANDON, Standon, East Hertfordshire
STANDON LORDSHIP WEST, AND STANDON LORDSHIP EAST (ON WEST BACK OF RIVER RIB 1 KILOMETRE SOUTH OF STANDON VILLAGE)
• List Entry Number: 1347501 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II* • Location: STANDON LORDSHIP WEST, AND STANDON LORDSHIP EAST (ON WEST BACK OF RIVER RIB 1 KILOMETRE SOUTH OF STANDON VILLAGE), BARWICK ROAD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
OUTHOUSE, FARM BUILDINGS AND WALL WITH BEEBOLES AT STANDON LORDSHIP WEST (45 METRES TO WEST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1347502 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location:
23
OUTHOUSE, FARM BUILDINGS AND WALL WITH BEEBOLES AT STANDON LORDSHIP WEST (45 METRES TO WEST OF HOUSE), BARWICK FORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
TERRACE WALL AT STANDON LORDSHIP WEST (30 METRES TO SOUTH EAST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1102386 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: TERRACE WALL AT STANDON LORDSHIP WEST (30 METRES TO SOUTH EAST OF HOUSE), BARWICK FORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BARN AT BROKEN GREEN (30 METRES TO NORTH EAST OF FARMHOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1078244 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BARN AT BROKEN GREEN (30 METRES TO NORTH EAST OF FARMHOUSE), STORTFORD ROAD, BROKEN GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
FARMHOUSE AT BROKEN GREEN
• List Entry Number: 1262818 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FARMHOUSE AT BROKEN GREEN, STORTFORD ROAD, BROKEN GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
Puckeridge
DORMERS 2, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1176429 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: DORMERS, 2, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
24
3, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1176344 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 3, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
EVERETT HALL 4, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102376 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: EVERETT HALL, 4, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
5, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102373 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 5, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
6, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102334 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 6, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
7 AND 9, HIGH STREET PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1176355 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 7 AND 9, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, SG11 1RN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
25
8, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102335 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 8, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
11, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1347498 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 11, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
12 AND 14, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102336 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 12 AND 14, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
16, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102337 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 16, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
MILESTONE (NEXT SOUTH EAST CORNER OF NO 16)
• List Entry Number: 1102338 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: MILESTONE (NEXT SOUTH EAST CORNER OF NO 16), HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
26
18, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102339 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 18, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
THORPE HOUSE 19, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1176364 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II* • Location: 19, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
20 AND 22, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1347519 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 20 AND 22, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
21, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102374 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 21, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
24, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102340 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 24, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
26, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102341
27
• Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 26, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
28, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1347520 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 28, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
32, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1176510 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 32, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
CROWN AND FALCON PUBLIC HOUSE 33, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1176373 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II* • Location: CROWN AND FALCON PUBLIC HOUSE, 33, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
34 AND 36, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102342 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 34 AND 36, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
RIDGE HOUSE 38 AND 38A, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1307848 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II
28
• Location: RIDGE HOUSE, 38 AND 38A, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
DUNSTER HOUSE 40, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1347521 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: DUNSTER HOUSE, 40, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
41 AND 43, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1347499 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 41 AND 43, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
45,47,49 AND 51, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1176387 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 45,47,49 AND 51, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
46, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102343 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 46, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
TG’S FORMER BARCLAYS BANK 48, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1176536 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location:
29
TG’S FORMER BARCLAYS BANK, 48, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
50, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102344 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 50, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
52, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1307853 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 52, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
OLD WOOLPACK HOUSE 53, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102375 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: OLD WOOLPACK HOUSE, 53, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
54,56,58 AND 60, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1347522 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II* • Location: 54,56,58 AND 60, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
66, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1307825 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 66, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
30
84,86,88 AND 90, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102345 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 84,86,88 AND 90, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
ALPHA HOUSE 1, BUNTINGFORD ROAD, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1175352 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: ALPHA HOUSE, 1, BUNTINGFORD ROAD, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
7, BUNTINGFORD ROAD, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1102391 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 7, BUNTINGFORD ROAD, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
27, BUNTINGFORD ROAD, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1295355 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 27, BUNTINGFORD ROAD, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
FARMHOUSE AT MENTLEY FARM
• List Entry Number: 1102354 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FARMHOUSE AT MENTLEY FARM, MENTLEY LANE WEST, Standon, East Hertfordshire
THE WHITE HART PUBLIC HOUSE
• List Entry Number: 1102372
31
• Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: THE WHITE HART PUBLIC HOUSE, HIGH STREET, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
8, THE HOPPITS, PARK LANE, PUCKERIDGE
• List Entry Number: 1347510 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 8, THE HOPPITS, PARK LANE, PUCKERIDGE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
Colliers End
BARNACRES
• List Entry Number: 1102357 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BARNACRES, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
FARMHOUSE AT FISHER'S FARM
• List Entry Number: 1102358 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FARMHOUSE AT FISHER'S FARM, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
FARM BUILDINGS AT FISHER'S FARM (30 METRES TO NORTH OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1102359 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FARM BUILDINGS AT FISHER'S FARM (30 METRES TO NORTH OF HOUSE), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
LITTLE QUAKERS AND BUILDING ON NORTH
32
• List Entry Number: 1102360 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: LITTLE QUAKERS AND BUILDING ON NORTH, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
INGLENOOK COTTAGE, AND THE POST HOUSE (NORTH OF LAMB AND FLAG PUBLIC HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1102361 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: INGLENOOK COTTAGE, AND THE POST HOUSE (NORTH OF LAMB AND FLAG PUBLIC HOUSE), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
SOUTH HOUSE
• List Entry Number: 1102362 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: SOUTH HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
FARMHOUSE AT LABDEN'S FARM
• List Entry Number: 1102363 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FARMHOUSE AT LABDEN'S FARM, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS FARM, Standon, East Hertfordshire
PLASHES FARM
• List Entry Number: 1102364
33
• Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: PLASHES FARM, GORE LANE, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
FARMHOUSE AT DOWSETTS FARM (ON TRACK 650 METRE PAST WELLINGTON COTTAGES)
• List Entry Number: 1102392 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FARMHOUSE AT DOWSETTS FARM (ON TRACK 650 METRE PAST WELLINGTON COTTAGES), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
52-56, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END
• List Entry Number: 1102393 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: 52-56, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK TO SOUTH OF INGLENOOK COTTAGE
• List Entry Number: 1262788 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK TO SOUTH OF INGLENOOK COTTAGE, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BARN AND STABLES ADJACENT AT PLASHES FARM (40 METRES TO NORTH EAST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1308109 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II* • Location:
34
BARN AND STABLES ADJACENT AT PLASHES FARM (40 METRES TO NORTH EAST OF HOUSE), GORE LANE, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
HOME FARM COTTAGE (OPPOSITE LAMB AND FLAG PUBLIC HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1308320 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: HOME FARM COTTAGE (OPPOSITE LAMB AND FLAG PUBLIC HOUSE), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
THE MANOR (NORTH OF COBWEBS)
• List Entry Number: 1308326 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: THE MANOR (NORTH OF COBWEBS), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
59 AND 61, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END
• List Entry Number: 1308335 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II* • Location: 59 AND 61, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
COBWEBS
• List Entry Number: 1347468 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: COBWEBS, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
MILESTONE (NEXT SOUTH EAST CORNER OF INGLENOOK COTTAGE)
• List Entry Number: 1347490
35
• Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: MILESTONE (NEXT SOUTH EAST CORNER OF INGLENOOK COTTAGE), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
FARMHOUSE AT RIGERY FARM (ALONG TRACK, 900 METRES FROM ROAD)
• List Entry Number: 1347491 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FARMHOUSE AT RIGERY FARM (ALONG TRACK, 900 METRES FROM ROAD), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, COLLIERS END, Standon, East Hertfordshire
Old Hall Green
LONG BARN AT HILL FARM (40 METRES TO EAST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1102352 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: LONG BARN AT HILL FARM (40 METRES TO EAST OF HOUSE), HILL FARM LANE, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
WILLACY'S AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE
• List Entry Number: 1102355 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: WILLACY'S AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
JUNIOR HOUSE AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC)
• List Entry Number: 1102356
36
• Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: JUNIOR HOUSE AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
MAIN SCHOOL BUILDINGS AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC)
• List Entry Number: 1102394 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: MAIN SCHOOL BUILDINGS AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
MEMORIAL SUNDIAL AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (47 METRES TO EAST OF FRONT DOOR)
• List Entry Number: 1102395 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: MEMORIAL SUNDIAL AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (47 METRES TO EAST OF FRONT DOOR), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
SUNDIAL AT THE HERITAGE AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (8 METRES TO SOUTH WEST OF THE HERMITAGE)
• List Entry Number: 1102396 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: SUNDIAL AT THE HERITAGE AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (8 METRES TO SOUTH WEST OF THE HERMITAGE), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
THE HERMITAGE AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (180 METRES TO WEST OF MAIN BUILDING)
• List Entry Number: 1175588 • Heritage Category: Listing
37
• Grade: II • Location: THE HERMITAGE AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (180 METRES TO WEST OF MAIN BUILDING), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
GYMNASIUM AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (30 METRES SOUTH EAST OF THE HERMITAGE)
• List Entry Number: 1175667 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: GYMNASIUM AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (30 METRES SOUTH EAST OF THE HERMITAGE), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
GRANARY AND ATTACHED SHELTER SHED AT HILL FARM (40 METRES TO SOUTH EAST)
• List Entry Number: 1176764 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: GRANARY AND ATTACHED SHELTER SHED AT HILL FARM (40 METRES TO SOUTH EAST), HILL FARM LANE, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
RYDERS GROVE
• List Entry Number: 1295310 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: RYDERS GROVE, CAMBRIDGE ROAD, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
FARMHOUSE AT HILL FARM (ALONG TRACK 90 METRES FROM LANE)
• List Entry Number: 1307760 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FARMHOUSE AT HILL FARM (ALONG TRACK 90 METRES FROM LANE), HILL FARM LANE, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
38
ST HUGH'S PREPARATORY SCHOOL AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (TO SOUTH OF ALLEN HALL)
• List Entry Number: 1308294 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: ST HUGH'S PREPARATORY SCHOOL AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (TO SOUTH OF ALLEN HALL), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHAPEL OF ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE, CLOISTER AND SCHOLEFIELD CHANTRY
• List Entry Number: 1308305 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: I • Location: ROMAN CATHOLIC CHAPEL OF ST EDMUND’S COLLEGE, (NORTH OF MAIN COLLEGE BUILDING), OLD HALL GREEN, WARE, HERTFORDSHIRE, SG11 1DS, Standon, East Hertfordshire
MILESTONE (120 METRES TO NORTH OF DRIVE TO RYDERS GROVE)
• List Entry Number: 1347467 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: MILESTONE (120 METRES TO NORTH OF DRIVE TO RYDERS GROVE), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
ALLAN HALL AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (AT SOUTH END OF MAIN BUILDING)
• List Entry Number: 1347469 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: ALLAN HALL AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (AT SOUTH END OF MAIN BUILDING), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
39
THE OLD FARMHOUSE AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (140 METRES TO SOUTH WEST OF MAIN BUILDING)
• List Entry Number: 1347470 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: THE OLD FARMHOUSE AT ST EDMUND'S COLLEGE (RC) (140 METRES TO SOUTH WEST OF MAIN BUILDING), CAMBRIDGE ROAD, OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
APPLE TREE COTTAGE (130 METRES TO NORTH OF BAY HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1347509 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: APPLE TREE COTTAGE (130 METRES TO NORTH OF BAY HOUSE), OLD HALL GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
Wellpond Green
EAST RANGE OF FARM BUILDINGS AT STANDON FRIARS (60 METRES TO NORTH OF FARMHOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1102367 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: EAST RANGE OF FARM BUILDINGS AT STANDON FRIARS (60 METRES TO NORTH OF FARMHOUSE), HADHAM ROAD, WELLPOND GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
FARMHOUSE AT STANDON FRIARS (ALONG TRACK 350 METRES FROM ROAD)
40
• List Entry Number: 1176033 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FARMHOUSE AT STANDON FRIARS (ALONG TRACK 350 METRES FROM ROAD), HADHAM ROAD, WELLPOND GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
GRANARY AT STANDON FRIARS (55 METRES TO NORTH WEST OF FARMHOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1308079 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: GRANARY AT STANDON FRIARS (55 METRES TO NORTH WEST OF FARMHOUSE), HADHAM ROAD, WELLPOND GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
STANDON FRIARS COTTAGE (14 METRES TO NORTH EAST OF FARMHOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1347493 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: STANDON FRIARS COTTAGE (14 METRES TO NORTH EAST OF FARMHOUSE), HADHAM ROAD, WELLPOND GREEN, Standon, East Hertfordshire
Latchford
THE LODGE
• List Entry Number: 1102314 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: THE LODGE, MORLEY LANE, LATCHFORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
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FARMHOUSE AT LATCHFORD FARM (BY THE FORD ON THE RIVER RIB)
• List Entry Number: 1102315 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FARMHOUSE AT LATCHFORD FARM (BY THE FORD ON THE RIVER RIB), MORLEY LANE, LATCHFORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
WEST BARN AT LATCHFORD FARM (20 METRES TO SOUTH WEST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1102316 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: WEST BARN AT LATCHFORD FARM (20 METRES TO SOUTH WEST OF HOUSE), MORLEY LANE, LATCHFORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
THE COTTAGE
• List Entry Number: 1307717 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: THE COTTAGE, MORLEY LANE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
SOUTH BARN AT LATCHFORD FARM (30 METRES TO SOUTH OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1307725 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: SOUTH BARN AT LATCHFORD FARM (30 METRES TO SOUTH OF HOUSE), MORLEY LANE, LATCHFORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
Barwick
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BARN AND COWHOUSE AND SHELTER SHED ADJOINING AT BIGGINS FARM (50 METRES TO WEST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1102381 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BARN AND COWHOUSE AND SHELTER SHED ADJOINING AT BIGGINS FARM (50 METRES TO WEST OF HOUSE), BARWICK FORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
FARMHOUSE AT GREAT BARWICK FARM
• List Entry Number: 1102382 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II* • Location: FARMHOUSE AT GREAT BARWICK FARM, BARWICK FORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
NORTH BARN AT GREAT BARWICK FARM (50 METRES TO NORTH WEST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1347500 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: NORTH BARN AT GREAT BARWICK FARM (50 METRES TO NORTH WEST OF HOUSE), BARWICK FORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
WEST BARN AT GREAT BARWICK FARM (50 METRES TO WEST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1102383 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II* • Location: WEST BARN AT GREAT BARWICK FARM (50 METRES TO WEST OF HOUSE), BARWICK FORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
GRANARY AT GREAT BARWICK FARM (15 METRES TO WEST OF HOUSE)
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• List Entry Number: 1102384 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: GRANARY AT GREAT BARWICK FARM (15 METRES TO WEST OF HOUSE), BARWICK FORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
STABLE TO GREAT BARWICK FARM (30 METRES TO NORTH EAST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1102385 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: STABLE TO GREAT BARWICK FARM (30 METRES TO NORTH EAST OF HOUSE), BARWICK FORD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
RIBFORD COTTAGE
• List Entry Number: 1102387 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: RIBFORD COTTAGE, BARWICK FORD, HANGING WOOD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
HANGING COVER COTTAGE
• List Entry Number: 1102388 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: HANGING COVER COTTAGE, BARWICK ROAD, HANGING WOOD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
HANGINGWOOD COTTAGE
• List Entry Number: 1295381 • Heritage Category: Listing
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• Grade: II • Location: HANGINGWOOD COTTAGE, HANGING WOOD, Standon, East Hertfordshire
Bromley
FARMHOUSE AT STANDON LODGE FARM
• List Entry Number: 1102389 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FARMHOUSE AT STANDON LODGE FARM, BROMLEY HALL LANE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
SMALL BARN AT STANDON LODGE FARM
• List Entry Number: 1295372 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: SMALL BARN AT STANDON LODGE FARM, BROMLEY HALL LANE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BARN AND ADJOINING STABLES AT STANDON LODGE FARM
• List Entry Number: 1347504 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BARN AND ADJOINING STABLES AT STANDON LODGE FARM, BROMLEY HALL LANE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BROMLEY HALL
• List Entry Number: 1102390 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BROMLEY HALL, BROMLEY HALL LANE, BROMLEY, Standon, East Hertfordshire
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BROMLEY HALL COTTAGE
• List Entry Number: 1347503 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BROMLEY HALL COTTAGE, BROMLEY HALL LANE, BROMLEY, Standon, East Hertfordshire
PUMP AT BROMLEY HALL (5 METRES TO SOUTH EAST OF BROMLEY LODGE)
• List Entry Number: 1347505 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: PUMP AT BROMLEY HALL (5 METRES TO SOUTH EAST OF BROMLEY LODGE), BROMLEY HALL LANE, BROMLEY, Standon, East Hertfordshire
FOX AND HOUNDS HOUSE
• List Entry Number: 1175249 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: FOX AND HOUNDS HOUSE, BROMLEY HALL LANE, BROMLEY, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BARN AT LITTLE BALSAMS (20 METRES TO SOUTH WEST OF HOUSE)
• List Entry Number: 1175254 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: BARN AT LITTLE BALSAMS (20 METRES TO SOUTH WEST OF HOUSE), BROMLEY HALL LANE, Standon, East Hertfordshire
BROMLEY BARN AND OUTHOUSE TO BROMLEY HALL ATTACHED (35 METRES TO NORTH WEST OF BROMLEY HALL)
• List Entry Number: 1295341 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location:
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BROMLEY BARN AND OUTHOUSE TO BROMLEY HALL ATTACHED (35 METRES TO NORTH WEST OF BROMLEY HALL), BROMLEY HALL LANE, BROMLEY, Standon, East Hertfordshire
GRANARY AT BROMLEY HALL (20 METRES TO EAST NORTH EAST)
• List Entry Number: 1295345 • Heritage Category: Listing • Grade: II • Location: GRANARY AT BROMLEY HALL (20 METRES TO EAST NORTH EAST), BROMLEY HALL LANE, BROMLEY, Standon, East Hertfordshire
Non-Designated Heritage Assets in the Parish
East Herts District Council Pre Submission Plan The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] Chapter 21 Heritage Assets, 21.2.6 states
The following policy therefore seeks to ensure that the value and significance of the district’s non-designated heritage assets are protected so that they continue to contribute to the richness of the district’s historic environment and inform future development.
Policy HA2 Non-Designated Heritage Assets
I. The Council will engage with local communities to identify undesignated heritage assets that contribute to local distinctiveness and refer to existing information in the historic environment record.
II. Where a proposal would adversely affect a non-designated heritage asset, regard will be had to the scale of any harm or loss and the significance of the heritage asset.
Further information and good practice on the identification of non-designated heritage assets is available on the Historic England website at: www.historicengland.org.uk
The following are heritage assets that Standon Neighbourhood Development Plan would like to see protected as non-designated heritage assets, due to the fact that they are locally significant and they contribute to the richness of Standon Parish’s historic environment:-
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THE FORDS
4 fords traverse the river Rib in the Parish, adding attractively to the rural landscape. Only the southernmost, Barwick, is still regularly used by vehicular traffic but all the footbridges are used frequently by walkers.
To the North, at the southern edge of the village of Standon and within the Conservation Area, the ford may mark the medieval entry to the village from Ermine Street, down Dowsetts Lane, and from the Barwick Road. Its use declined over a long period for a variety of reasons including the development of new settlements such as Colliers End and Puckeridge along Ermine Street (A10). It is a notably long ford, following the course of the river.
The next, at Latchford, as well as allowing cattle to cross the river from Latchford farm, also facilitated access to the Barwick Road. It ceased being used regularly by vehicles when the more southerly road bridge was built.
Hanging Wood ford, the site of Latchford Mill (now demolished) joined the settlement with Latchford, with the track (now metalled road) between them following the river to the East.
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The most southerly, at Great Barwick, is used by traffic from the C183 (formerly A10) to Much Hadham. Its busiest time was at the height of the activities of the gunpowder factory, which went into liquidation in about 1938.
COLLIERS END VILLAGE HALL
This attractive single storey brick hall with its steep roof was built by the Puller family of Youngsbury in 1862 as the schoolroom. It used bricks from the Colliers End kiln at Labdens Farm and the roof had a small wooden bell turret. Around 1900, it started to be used for church services and then as a reading room, before becoming the Village Hall in the 1920s. In the 1960s, it needed re-roofing and the bell turret was dismantled with the bell removed for storage in St Mary’s chapel of ease. As part of the year 2000 Millenium celebrations, the Pearman family re-built the bell turret and rehung the bell. The hall is well used for many activities.
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ST MARY’S CHAPEL OF EASE, COLLIERS END
St Mary’s was completed in 1910 as a chapel of ease because of the distance to High Cross Parish church. The schoolroom was already being used for some services and dedicating it entirely to church use had been suggested. However, plans changed as, on the death of his wife, businessman Mr Edward Ernest Wickham of Plashes acquired land and designed and built the small chapel of ease in her memory. He used bricks from the same kiln as the schoolroom, and furnished it to his taste in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. It remains fully in use and there are regular services.
ST EDMUND OF CANTERBURY RC CHURCH, OLD HALL GREEN
Designed by the English architect Arthur Young (1853-1924), known particularly for RC churches, this brick church was built in 1911. It replaced a church built in 1818, now part of St Edmund’s College estate.
ASSET OF COMMUNITY VALUE
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CENTURY HALL, PUCKERIDGE
Century Hall was declared an Asset of Community Value in 2016.
For a period until the 1990s, it served various civic and social needs as a venue for local community and private events, and as a polling station, as well as for Sunday mornings’ Sunday School and Family Service followed by mid-week meetings and Bible Studies. On the sale of Puckeridge Chapel in 2012, all religious services were transferred to it and it continues to be used for that purpose. The nomination as Asset of Community Value, which was accepted, states: “The site has until very recently been in regular use by the community. For the purposes of this nomination, its potential use as a community hall, faith and civic centre is considered to further the social well-being or the interests of the community it serves and enough evidence has been provided to suggest that these or other non-ancillary uses could continue in the future. For these reasons, it is considered that the nomination should be accepted and the site be confirmed as an asset of community value.”
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Archaeology
The Parish of Standon straddles the Greenwich Meridian which is marked in at least two places by posts. One, an iron post, is outside Ryders Grove on the East side of the C183 (the A1170) road, and the other is in Gore Lane, Barwick. It covers 2379 hectares and is bisected by the River Rib, running from North to South. It is located in the centre of the East Hertfordshire plateau, which is the largest area of open country in the county.
The Parish is rich in archaeological sites, containing no less than 16 areas designated as being of archaeological significance and one scheduled ancient monument, the Roman Town at Wickham Hill. An extensive settlement dating to the late Iron Age (100BC to AD43) lies between the villages of Standon and Braughing, covering an area in excess of two hundred hectares. The settlement was a major centre for importing luxury goods from the Roman Empire in the period between the expedition of Julius Caesar to Britain (55-54BC) and the Roman invasion (AD43), and is one of the most important Iron Age sites in Britain.
A Roman town succeeded the late Iron Age settlement soon after the Roman invasion and its remains lie on Wickham Hill. The site is nationally important and is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Sites along the Rib valley to the North of Standon and Puckeridge have yielded Romano-British finds. Standon and Braughing continued to be important settlements after the departure of the Romans in AD410 and by the time of the Norman Conquest Standon had achieved the status of a medieval Borough.
Skeleton Green Revisited - Excavations at Mentley Lane, Puckeridge. A major archaeological excavation took place over the summer and autumn (2011) close to ‘Skeleton Green’ at the northern end of Puckeridge. This is just next to the Iron Age settlement and Roman town of Braughing, and at the junction of two major Roman roads - Ermine Street (the A10) and Stane Street (the A120).
The site, which is within a few metres of late Iron Age burials and settlement evidence excavated in the 1970s, at ‘Skeleton Green’, had lain largely undisturbed in recent times until the excavations began.
The archaeologists revealed evidence of an extensive Early Roman cremation cemetery in which the inhabitants of the early Roman town had been buried, and also many inhumation (skeleton) burials in graves, and associated boundary ditches, pits and postholes. The cremations (funeral ashes) were placed in a pottery vessel and buried in a pit, often with other pots, and sometimes in a wooden box or casket. Nine pots were found with one burial. By the end of October, over 200 cremations and 60 inhumations had been excavated, yielding well over 400 complete and partial pottery vessels and a number of other
52 important artefacts such as shale bracelets and the remains of many hob nail boots. A well preserved inhumation burial Early Roman cremation burial - shows a Cremation burial of earlier, 1st century, date.
As well as the Roman remains, which had been anticipated, the archaeologists also found a magnificent flint and brick built late medieval tile kiln and its associated well. The structure had a well-preserved working chamber and two stoke holes that fed into the firing chamber. Historical sources refer to the presence of this kiln in ‘Tile Kiln Field’ from 1516 onwards, an early date for a structure of this kind. The kiln eventually went out of use, and at some point it was converted into a barn. The kiln was partly demolished and substantial clay floors were inserted. This building is recorded in legal documents dating to the 17th century.
Crop-marks have shown several sites of enclosures of unknown age. Those undoubtedly pre-date the Norman Conquest and point to very early woodland clearance in the North of the Parish.
HHER Report – see Heritage Gateway www.heritagegateway.org.uk/
In the second half of the 1st century AD the late Iron Age enclosure (which appears to have had a ritual or funerary function) was replaced by a second enclosure system which was dug before the start of the cemetery, as the graves respect the position of a bank along one edge. One of the later 1st century AD cremations was in the base of the enclosure ditch, with the cemetery on the outside. The cemetery can be divided into three zones. The 'Eastern Cemetery' lay at the base of the slope beyond the eastern side of the enclosure, the burials intensively intercutting in the hillwash and with an apparent pyre at the south end. This Eastern group included 196 burials; the Western group, north of the enclosure, contained 32 burials (including most of the inhumations), and beyond a ditch to the north the Northern group contained 6 cremations. The earliest cremations are mid to late 1st century AD; the two latest are 3rd to 4th century.
Of the cremation burials, 77 were accompanied by pottery, between one and five pots; one of these usually contained the cremation itself. Other finds included animal bone and metalwork, although there were few imported objects and few non-ferrous objects. The range suggested an indigenous population.
Of the inhumations, bone preservation was poor. They were all later Roman in date, contemporary with the later cremations and with a similar range of grave goods. Many were within nine ditched enclosures, round and rectangular; the sub circular one surrounded several burials.
Natural Environment
Landscape
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East Herts District Council’s Landscape Character Assessment http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=24642 contains the following points and guidelines which are relevant to Standon Parish:-
High Cross Plateau (Area 73 of East Herts Landscape Character Assessment)
Plateau between High Cross and Colliers End, bounded to the east by the Rib valley, to the south by a tributary and to the west by a tributary of the Beane. To the north this area abuts and runs to the west of the Puckeridge parklands. There is a small sub-area on the western edge around Haultwick, separated by The Dane End Tributary.
A two-speed landscape, open undulating clay plateau bisected by fast A-road along ancient route with several wayside settlements.
In arable cultivation with several ancient woodlands. Noticeably larger field pattern to the east of the A10, without settlements; more ancient, smaller scale to the west, with settlements.
Main characteristics are undulating arable upland, filtered views out from and along A10, limited views elsewhere, filtered by hedgerow vegetation, isolated blocks of woodland, some large, especially east of A10, ancient buildings in roadside settlements, place names with 'green' or 'end' in small, remote settlements, irregular or sinuous lanes and field boundaries.
Distinctive features are impact of A10, transport-related commercial development along the A10, the transition to the neighbouring valley areas is blurred because arable cultivation extends right down to the watercourses, Roman roads.
Upper Rib Valley (Area 91 of East Herts Landscape Character Assessment)
The Rib Valley and slopes between Barwick Ford and Braughing
Variable valley landform, within which watercourses are not a significant feature, opening out to a broader undulating arable valley. Between Barwick Ford and The Lordship and again around Braughing it is an undulating arable valley, while north and south of Standon it is much narrower. The ancient settlements on the valley slopes are a notable local feature.
Main characteristics are undulating valley landform, generally quite open but narrowing towards Standon, arable production, tributary valleys (Braughing Warren Bourne and Braughing Bourne) of similar scale and character to main river valley, extensive woodland (Plashes Wood), hamlets and isolated farmhouses, with significant ancient settlements at Standon, Puckeridge and Braughing, similarity of opposing valley slopes.
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Distinctive features of Standon and Braughing settlements, hedgerow oaks set within fields rather than in hedge, herbicide spray marks out the watercourse
Geology and soils - deep well-drained loamy soils over till (glacial drift) on the lower valley slopes (Melford series), overlaid with slowly permeable calcareous clay soils over chalky till (Hanslope series).
Topography - steep valley slopes above narrow valley floor (Standon to The Lordship), elsewhere open valley with no obvious floor. Degree of slope. 1 in 8 to 1 in 30; river fall between Standon and Barwick Ford is 1 in 5000 Altitude range. 60m to 100m Hydrology.
The Rib is classified by the Environment Agency (EA) https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency as a salmonid river and supports exceptionally diverse groups of invertebrates, ranking in the top 5-10% nationally. It is very meandering in this area, especially between Latchford and Standon. Land cover and land use. Arable cultivation throughout, with indigenous woodland on the steepest slopes and very small amounts of pasture Vegetation and wildlife. There are some important old grasslands on the alluvial floodplain and on the gravel terraces at Standon Lordship.
Apart from these there is little wetland vegetation. There is a young wetland plantation by the fishing lake below The Lordship. Veteran oaks have been recorded at Hamelsmead. The valley slopes are covered with arable fields with a few fragmented hedgerows of pure elm or mixed holly, blackthorn, hawthorn, field maple and elder, occasionally pure hawthorn. Bracken is widespread on the upper slopes. Standon Lordship supports the last significant fen habitat in the Rib valley. Plashes Wood, between Colliers End and Latchford, is designated SSSI for the richness and diversity of its ancient woodland and is among the most important as well as largest woods in this part of the county (72 ha). See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report.
The rich ground flora reflects the local variation in soil types (mixed acidic/calcareous) and good management in the past. It contains chiefly oak/hornbeam coppice with standards, with ash and beech, over bluebells and dog's mercury.
It also has oak, ash, beech and silver birch over hazel, elder and blackthorn, as well as some coniferous plantation, marshy clearings and ponds. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report.
Standon is a significant ancient settlement within the valley, but beyond the boundaries arable cultivation prevails and little of the former field pattern remains. The earliest record of a deer park at Standon Lordship is 1240.
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Field pattern - medium irregular with few hedgerows and some very large fields. Degraded by loss of hedge boundaries, although hedges are often retained along roadsides. Transport pattern. One narrow lane without verges winds its way along the valley slope between Barwick Ford and Standon. Standon and Puckeridge lie on the A120, a fast, modern road with wide verges and modern amenity planting. Settlements and built form, Puckeridge has benefited from a bypass; the apparently late Georgian vernacular facades of many of its buildings conceal much earlier structures behind, including medieval hall houses. It is linked via 20th- century housing to : Standon, described in Pevsner as ' a very pretty village, with houses nicely grouped between the church and the Endowed School to the south ...a long two-storey house with a 16th century timber frame with brick-nogging infill '. The Lordship includes the remains of an early Tudor mansion and is set picturesquely in a meander of the river. This is an area in which historic continuity is rather masked by 20th-century development, but retains its integrity, although its historic importance is not readily perceived in the wider landscape, rather retained in the settlements. It is generally quite open, with extensive views within the area, although the landform provides a sense of containment within much of the area. It is very tranquil away from the A120.
Rarity and distinctiveness - Plashes Wood is rare by virtue of the diversity of its vegetation and is unusually large for this area. The settlements indicate the historic value of this area, which is not reflected in its landscape features.
Distinctive features - The Lordship set in a large meander of the river. Loss of internal field boundaries has degraded the visual unity of this area.
Accessibility quite good - central footpath (Harcamlow Way) along river valley in the main, plus many lateral routes.
Community views - all the locations that include fords, and the stretches of valley in between, are noted for their distinctiveness, alongside mention of historic and cultural associations, making the Rib valley as a whole one of the most valued landscapes in the district. Landscape related designations SSSI and Ancient Woodland: Plashes Wood The Rib valley is recognised as a High Biodiversity Area (HBA) for its wetlands and woodlands. See SNP5 Views and Open Spaces Report.
It is important to promote the development of natural woodland around large blocks of ancient woodland and ensure that developers and landowners are aware of this BAP objective www.hef.org.uk/nature/biodiversity_vision/
Intensive agricultural practices prevent the establishment of an ecological and landscape corridor along the Rib, which would provide food, cover and a migratory route for wildlife. There is need to encourage landowners to establish buffer zones
56 along the watercourses to prevent run-off from herbicides, pesticides and fertilizer and to provide wildlife havens.
There is also a need to link these buffer zones to the wider landscape via hedges, field margins or woodland, encourage landowners to safeguard existing hedges, increase hedged field boundaries, create permanent grass strips around field margins and prevent spray drift, using financial incentives as available, use ancient wood, hedge and field boundaries, including banks and ditches, to identify the most appropriate location for woodland expansion on the steeper valley slopes, use only indigenous species of local provenance wherever possible, encourage reversion from arable use to pasture and grassland within the river valley, while retaining arable cultivation on the upper slopes to reinforce this area's distinctiveness, encourage landowners and developers to retain and increase ponds and wetland areas to enhance their visual and wildlife functions, promote the use of low-density stock grazing as a management technique, ensure that local inhabitants are aware of the BAP http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-5705 objective of creating a 'necklace' of inter-connected wetland habitats along the river valley, encourage the planting of wetland species along the watercourses, such as willow and black poplar, encourage management of the planting along the A120 to promote locally indigenous species. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report
Puckeridge Parklands (Area 92 of East Herts Landscape Character Assessment)
Linear belt to west of A10 and river Rib, north and south of Puckeridge
Landscape character - group of disturbed parklands along the A10 Roman road, on the upper slopes of the Rib Valley.
Key characteristics are undulating east-facing slope, former parkland, disturbed by current land use, with no settlements, well wooded, estate arable farmland with isolated farms, mature parkland trees
Distinctive features - St Edmunds College - buildings, parkland and playing fields, Hamels Park - hotel, golf course and corporate entertainment, A10 as boundary - parkland overrides valley topography
Geology and soils - slowly permeable seasonally waterlogged fine loams and clays on drift over Tertiary clay (Wickham 4 series).
Topography - upper valley slopes, Degree of slope. 1 in 30 Altitude range. 75m to 127m Hydrology. Several streams and ditches flow eastwards into the Rib, including two Puckeridge Tributaries Land cover and land use. Wooded estate farmland and parkland. Golf course within Hamels Park. Arable and pasture. Vegetation and wildlife. Extensive woodland boundary plantings, with beech,
57 coppiced hornbeam, ash, oak, hawthorn and some conifers. Kings Wood is the best example within the area of oak/ash/maple and hornbeam woodland on de- calcified boulder clay; the Hamels woodlands are mainly plantation. There is some old neutral grassland, mostly improved, and many hedges of varying ages, some with very large hedgerow oaks, especially around Mentley Lane. Species include sallow, hawthorn, dogwood, elm and hazel and there are some modern mixed hedges. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report.
This area is dominated by the three parklands of Coles Park, Hamels Park and St Edmunds College, all bounded by the A10 to the east. St Edmunds College is the successor to the famous Catholic English College at Douai, in Flanders, and moved to Old Hall Green in 1759, having been established at The Lordship ten years before.
It is set within parkland which slopes westwards from the A10 and has many mature parkland trees, mainly oaks. The original house and park at Hamels date from the end of the 16th century and appear as a significant landscape on all maps from 1695 (Oliver's county map) http://www.hertfordshire- genealogy.co.uk/data/maps/oliver1695.htm onwards. The earliest record of a deer park here is 1695. Elements of the earlier landscape remain within this essentially late-18th century landscape, including the remnants of a canal (1719) and an icehouse (1729). Pre-park landscape features include hollow-ways of medieval roads, ancient hedgebanks and a small area of ridge and furrow.
The present day Park dates from circa 1780 including perimeter tree belts, a naturalised pond and specimen trees. The ha-ha and current gardens around the house date from the early 19th-century. The current golf course fits reasonably with the Park Land but the historic value of the Park is being eroded by inappropriate planting and some re-modelling to greens.
Coles Park house was built c 1790, rebuilt in 1847 and demolished in the 1950s. It was described in 1853 as standing in a park of 240 acres of fertile ground with some fine timber and flourishing plantations. The garden is laid out after the Italian fashion. Several buildings have been converted to houses and parts of the formal gardens survive. The attractive park landscape survives more or less intact - pasture (sheep and cattle) with single mature trees, some immature replacements and surrounding woodlands.
Preserved within the park are hollow-ways marking the course of former roads (shown on Drury and Andrews map of 1766) http://www.duryandrewsmapofhertfordshire.co.uk/ and carriageways to the house which fell out of use at Inclosure in 1819.
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Field Pattern - on the arable farmland around the parklands field sizes tend to be quite small, well hedged and semi-regular in form. Transport pattern. The dominant feature in this area is the A10, here still following the route of the Roman road. From this road narrow winding lanes run off to the west on the boundaries of the parkland estates through treed hedgerows. Verges are variable, often very wide. Settlements and built form. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report.
There are no settlements in this area, only mansions and isolated farms, which are often 17th century or earlier.
The Dower House of Coles Park is a red brick Georgian building with walled gardens, near the listed 19th-century farmhouse and associated buildings at Knights Hill Farm. The English Heritage listing states that the park contains a valuable assemblage of historic landscape, archaeological features and buildings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, including an icehouse beneath the pasture in the park.
The current house at Hamels is set in pleasure grounds laid out in the mid-19th century and separated from the park by a ha ha. There are mature specimens of cedar, redwood, horse chestnut and London plane and a late 18th-century walled garden, gardener's bothy and lodges, all designed by Sir John Soane. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report.
St Edmunds College. A brick house of 1630 is still in use but a new college of stock brick was built in 1795-99, fifteen bays wide and three storeys high, and Pugin designed a chapel for it in 1845
The parkland overlay lends quite a large-scale impression to what is essentially a medium-scale arable landscape. Its potential tranquillity is damaged by constant traffic on the A10 but is widespread away from this major transport route.
The area is partly visible from the A10, at points where there is little intervening vegetation, but from elsewhere, especially from the west, there are very limited views due to the extensive boundary plantations.
Rarity and distinctiveness. The pattern of this area, with the junction of the parklands with the A10, is unusual. The parklands are important in landscape history terms, and the buildings at St Edmund's College are historically important.
The main visual impact in this area is the road traffic on the A10. There are no settlements or other development within the area, to which the parkland features and old farmhouses bring an air of stability and history.
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Two footpaths run alongside the Puckeridge tributaries, between the parklands, but there is no other public access.
There is need to encourage the replacement of softwoods in plantations with indigenous native deciduous communities and management to re-establish a species-rich ground flora, use ancient wood, hedge and field boundaries, including banks and ditches, to identify the most appropriate location for woodland expansion, survey and manage parkland and veteran trees for biodiversity value, encourage new planting to maintain age diversity.
Landscape improvements should respect the historic context of existing features and the form and character of parklands and gardens.
Ornamental species should only be used to replace damaged or over-mature specimens, where appropriate, hard landscaping details such as steps, balustrades, pond copings, statuary and urns should be conserved.
Replacements should be in facsimile and in natural materials. Gazebos, temples, follies, grottoes, obelisks, park bridges, ice houses, terraces, ha-has, boundary walls, gates and gate piers should contribute to the planned landscape and its setting.
Replacement, renovated or new features should be architect designed and in keeping with their original setting, encourage reversion from arable use to pasture and grassland, discourage the ploughing of grasslands within parkland, encourage landowners and developers to retain and increase ponds and wetland areas to enhance their visual and wildlife functions, promote the use of low-density stock grazing as a management technique, initiate discussion on public access to woodland areas on fringes of the estate for informal recreation.
New planting should use locally indigenous trees and shrubs and reflect planting mixes found locally. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report.
In the face of competition for resources and environmental change, now more than ever it is important to look to the landscape and to sites to perform the widest range of functions for people, communities and quality of life, wildlife and ecosystems.
The Chalk Rivers
The chalk rivers of England provide a unique habitat for a rich diversity of fish, riparian creatures and rare plant species which is under serious threat from over- abstraction, over-development, pollution and climate change.
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The extent to which the chalk rivers of Hertfordshire are suffering from over- abstraction means that the courses east of Luton are over-licensed, over- abstracted or have no available water supplies. The Environment Agency classifies the area as water stressed.
The situation is going to get worse with the onset of climate change (see the Hadley Centre's Regional Climate Model https://www.gov.uk/dfid-research- outputs/the-hadley-centre-regional-climate-modelling-system-precis-providing- regional-climates-for-impacts-studies ) as summers become hotter and winters dryer, creating a situation where less water falls upon a harder, dryer surface, lessening its chances of soaking into the aquifer.
The porous nature of the chalk which is predominantly found under Hertfordshire acts like a sponge, holding water that feeds the rivers. This “chalk sponge” is referred to as the aquifer. When the aquifer has a sufficient quantity of water, the rivers flow; when there is not enough water in the aquifer, low or no flows are experienced. The Hertfordshire Rivers Beane and Mimram are featured in the WWF Campaign “Rivers on the Edge”. http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/rivers_on_the_edge.pdf There are also 5 other chalk streams in the North East Hertfordshire constituency: the Ash, the Rib, the Quin (all Upper Lee catchment), the Upper Rhea at Ashwell Springs and the Ivel which starts at Radwell (Great Ouse catchment)
Rivers on the Edge focuses the lens on the Kennet, the Upper Lee tributaries and the Itchen, three of England’s iconic chalk streams – fragile and beautiful systems that are unique to this country and host an abundance of native wildlife – that, if lost through our over-exploitation, will be lost to the world forever.
Chalk: the ideal water course and a unique ecosystem. The mechanics of a chalk stream are at the heart of these diverse eco-systems. The richness of their habitat is entirely dependent on the chalk aquifers from which they rise – and chalk streams are found nowhere in the world except the south and east of England and pockets of northern France. The underground journey of water from rain to river is the key to what shapes a chalk stream. Rainwater dissolves chalk and so becomes alkaline and rich in nutrients. It is cooled by its journey through the chalk, and springs from the ground at a constant temperature whether summer or winter. Under natural circumstances, chalk aquifers buffer the impacts of flood and drought so that chalk stream flows are constant and equable.
These fertile flows creates perfect conditions for thriving wildlife. These lush rivers provide a gentle habitat in which everything grows to abundance – insects, water plants, fish, crayfish, birds and mammals like the water vole and the otter
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(Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows was, after all, written beside a chalk stream).
The Upper Lee and its chalk stream tributaries, the Mimram, Beane, Ash, Rib and upper Stort, flow through Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. The surrounding area is predominantly rural, but these rivers flow through some urban areas too, such as Luton.
Across the Upper Lee catchment there are 14 Sites of Special Scientific Interest designated in relation to the water environment. The Lee Valley Special Protection Area falls partly in the catchment. The tributaries still support populations of wild trout in places.
The Lee has been a key source of London’s water for centuries. In the early seventeenth century, a conduit of drinking water – the ‘New River’ – for a burgeoning London was constructed to flow from the springs of the Lee into the middle of the City. Today, the Upper Lee and its tributaries provide water to the surrounding towns of Harlow, Luton, Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City and Hertford (with 200 licensed abstractions). The dwindling flows are supplemented by outfall from sewage works, which, during low flows, can make up the bulk of the water in the main river. Some of these rivers such as the Mimram and the Beane now dry out completely. Extensive channel modification, urbanisation, and pollution from roads and farmland are all affecting the biological quality of the river.
Over abstraction is having a significant impact on the Upper Lee. The Environment Agency’s CAMS http://www.groundwateruk.org/Environment-Agency-web- links.aspx has found that over abstraction is having a damaging impact on the environment not only at low flows but also at high flows. Over 90% of abstraction is for public water supplies, which means that improving water efficiency offers a significant opportunity to reduce abstraction.
It will be vital to develop water efficient housing for the future. There is a need to commit to making every home water efficient, linking water efficiency with energy efficiency schemes. There is also a need to create green jobs in the water and energy sectors to implement large scale efficiency schemes as part of a green new deal. It is essential that partnerships are encouraged to deliver water efficiency schemes between Local Authorities, social housing providers, water and energy companies and other stakeholders so as to ensure cost effectiveness and give a consistent message about modern sustainable lifestyles.
Every new home should be water neutral by building them to the highest standards and ensuring that there is no net increase in water consumption by making existing buildings such as hospitals, schools and businesses more water efficient.
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There is a need to provide strong incentives to promote water efficiency. This could be achieved by the requirement of a water meter in every home by 2020 with a pricing structure that provides an incentive to be water efficient, without penalising vulnerable households. There could be regulations to create incentives to reduce demand, so water companies can give equal importance to demand reduction and supply infrastructure.
There could be a statutory duty on Ofwat http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/regulated- companies/improving-regulation/ to allow, oversee and encourage mitigation and adaptation solutions to climate change.
The provision of water efficient products could be led by the Government to ensure that all public buildings are water efficient.
There could be an increase in abstraction prices in areas of scarcity to encourage water companies and other users to reduce damaging abstraction.
The Water Framework Directive http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1623/pdfs/uksiod_20151623_en.pdf requirements could be delivered by identifying funding for and developing a programme to end damaging abstraction. This could include monitoring and research and a review of the Environment Agency’s Restoring Sustainable Abstraction programme http://www.environmentdata.org/fedora/repository/ealit:2115/OBJ/20003106. pdf and Catchment Abstraction Management Strategies. See SNP11 Water and Drainage Report
Wildlife and Habitats (Including Ancient Woodland)
The planning system has a central role to play through resisting development proposals that may irreversibly damage important species or habitats, by enhancing biodiversity through incorporating mitigation and enhancements and by securing long-term favourable management of biodiversity rich sites.
Biodiversity describes the number and variety of species of plants and animals within a habitat and also the diversity of habitats within an ecosystem. Biodiversity has economic importance, adds to our quality of life and contributes to local distinctiveness. Whilst protecting priority species is important, if biodiversity is to be genuinely enhanced, the conservation of all wildlife and habitats needs to be at the centre of development and planning decision making.
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While there are no longer national habitat or species targets, the Hertfordshire Biodiversity Action Plan (2006) identifies those habitats and species which are a priority for conservation and is a valuable source of information on the county’s natural assets. The Hertfordshire Biodiversity Action Plan (2006) can be viewed and downloaded from the Hertfordshire Environmental Forum at:- www.hef.org.uk/nature/biodiversity_vision/ Development should be planned to avoid habitat loss and fragmentation, and opportunities should be sought to improve ecological connectivity, including through the creation, restoration and enhancement of linking habitats and ‘stepping stones’ through the landscape. Any development should minimise impacts on biodiversity and provide net gains for nature where possible. This involves safeguarding and enhancing biodiversity already present, providing new areas of habitat appropriate to the ecology of the area and integrating biodiversity within new development. Encouragement should be given to proposals which improve the biodiversity value of sites and to the establishment of local nature reserves where the nature conservation and landscape interest of the site will be protected and enhanced. Local Wildlife Sites are identified by the Hertfordshire Wildlife Sites Partnership which is a partnership approach to the identification, selection, assessment and protection of Local Wildlife Sites in the County, led and coordinated by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk
Within the Standon Parish Conservation Area there is a Wildlife Site south of Mentley Lane East in Puckeridge that is described in the Landscape Character Assessment http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/landscapecharacterspd The Local District Plan describes Wildlife Sites as being ‘discreet areas of land considered to be of significance for their wildlife features…’
The open grassland south of Mentley Lane East is a designated Wildlife Site. Its importance is that the former Lime Kiln and environs is important for Protected Species. Brown Long Eared bats, Daubenton’s Bat, Natterer’s Bat and Whiskered Bat have been recorded. Officers from Hertfordshire Biological Records Centre advise that ‘this Wildlife Site is very important for bats.’
Fallow and muntjac deer range over large areas of the Parish. There are also indications that roe deer, foxes, badgers, rabbits, and weasels are all on the increase, but hares are less common than they were.
Toads, frogs and newts also appear to be increasing, this may be due to the many garden ponds that now exist and is in spite of the continued loss of small natural ponds, which is, or ought to be, a matter of considerable local concern.
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Two large settling ponds have been constructed alongside the new A10 with reed beds and nearby small animal hides. A recent survey of bat nesting sites revealed the presence within the Parish of the Whiskered Bat, a European endangered species. More than 90 bird species were found to be breeding within the Parish including Corncrake, Red Kite and Honey-buzzard. Such richness of species can be attributed to the diversity of habitat to be found within the Parish. Woodland, streams, chalk streams http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife/habitats/chalk- streams rivers and ponds, grassland and arable farmland all abound. The only significant wild bird habitat in limited supply is marshland and wetland, but, where it exists, snipe and woodcock breed.
East Herts Submission District Plan, Policy NE2 Species and Habitats states:-The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] Development proposals which may have an impact on Species and Habitats of Principle Importance included in the England Biodiversity List published under section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/16/section/41 (or as subsequently amended) will only be permitted where harm to the species and habitats can be avoided. Locally important biodiversity sites and other notable ecological features of conservation value will also be protected and enhanced. Development which would result in the loss or significant damage to trees, hedgerows or ancient woodland sites will not be permitted. The Council will seek their reinforcement by additional planting of native species where appropriate. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report. Developments should demonstrate how the proposal improves the biodiversity value of sites and enhances their nature conservation interest, such as through the establishment of local nature reserves. If providing such features as part of a development, applicants should detail how it will be maintained in the long term. Where in exceptional circumstances damage to a species or habitat is unavoidable, any adverse impact should only occur as a last resort. The District Council will impose conditions /planning obligations which seek to: (a) Facilitate the survival of existing populations as well as encouraging the provision of new populations; (b) Reduce disturbance to a minimum; (c) Provide adequate alternative habitats to sustain at least the current levels of populations.
Protected species
65 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protected-species-and-sites-how-to-review- planning-proposals
Many species of plant and animal in England, and their habitats, are protected by law. What you can and can’t do by law varies from species to species.
• Helix Pomatia - Roman Snail, in England only (not the rest of the UK) is a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it illegal to kill, injure, collect or sell Roman snails. The snail was placed on the IUCN ‘red list’ of threatened and endangered species in January 2009.
European protected species have the highest level of protection and include:
• all species of bats • great crested newts • hazel or common dormice • otters • natterjack toads • reptiles (some species) • protected plants (some species) • large blue butterfly • sturgeon
It is also illegal to:-
• capture, kill, disturb or injure a European protected species (on purpose or by not taking enough care)
• damage or destroy a breeding or resting place (even accidentally)
• obstruct access to their resting or sheltering places (on purpose or by not taking enough care)
• possess, sell, control or transport live or dead individuals, or parts of them
Disturbing a protected species includes any deliberate activity that affects:
• a group’s ability to survive, breed or raise their young
• the species’ numbers or range in the local area
Other protected species and groups include:
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• badgers (there is a known badger sett in Café Field, Cambridge Road, Puckeridge and there has recently been a sighting in the garden of 49 Station Road and also behind the schools in Station Road). • water voles • wild birds • ancient woodland and veteran trees • white-clawed crayfish
Ancient Woodland
The landscape owes much of its present form to medieval and later society. Standon Manor, now Standon Lordship and, more particularly, the park, which surrounded it, dates back to the times of Edward the Confessor. Remnants of the early parkland enclosing some of the demesne can still be seen today, though the great storm of 1987 swept away most of the ancient oaks remaining in the valley.
Most of the woods in the Parish predate 1600 and owe their preservation to local needs for fuel and farming. In 1843 the first Duke of Wellington purchased the 1200 hectare Standon Estate which forms about half of the Parish. He and subsequent Dukes impressed their mark upon it by the encouragement of tenant farmers.
At least one of his successors (the 4th Duke) was very interested in forestry and replanted, in-filled and extended large areas of Plashes Wood, Badger’s Eye Plantation and other smaller woods and copses. Some recent additions also took place when the new A10 was constructed in 2004.
The natural flora is exceptionally rich. The current “Hertfordshire Flora Survey” http://www.hnhs.org/flora/ has recorded over 440 species of wild plant in the 2km x 2km Ordnance Survey grid centred on Plashes Wood. This is the richest area of flora yet surveyed in the county, despite local depredation of habitats in recent years. Plashes Wood is designated a S.S.S.I.7, but there are an additional ten sites designated O.S.I.8, and the Hertfordshire Environmental Records Centre www.hercinfo.org.uk/ has details of 78 sites of ecological interest within the Parish. A horticultural count in Standon Churchyard, updated in 1994, yielded 142 species.
Plashes Wood should not be seen in isolation, but as part of a complex of woodland and hedgerows which spread like a web across the entire Parish. The importance of these woodlands and hedges is well evidenced by the movement of deer through the Parish. Fallow and muntjac range over large areas of the countryside. There are also indications that roe deer, foxes, badgers, rabbits, and weasels are all on the increase, but hares are less common than they were. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report.
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Toads, frogs and newts also appear to be increasing, this may be due to the many garden ponds that now exist and is in spite of the continued loss of small natural ponds, which is, or ought to be, a matter of considerable local concern.
Trees and woodland classed as ‘ancient’ or ‘veteran’ are irreplaceable. Ancient woodland takes hundreds of years to establish and is considered important for its wildlife, soils, recreation, cultural value, history and contribution to landscapes.
Ancient woodland is any wooded area that has been wooded continuously since at least 1600 AD. It includes:
• Ancient seminatural woodland mainly made up of trees and shrubs native to the site, usually arising from natural regeneration
• Plantations on ancient woodland sites areas of ancient woodland where the former native tree cover has been felled and replaced by planted trees, usually of species not native to the site
• Ancient seminatural woodland and plantations on ancient woodland sites have equal protection under the National Planning Policy Framework https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-planning-policy- framework--2
• Veteran trees are trees which, because of their age, size or condition are of cultural, historical, landscape and nature conservation value. They can be found as individuals or groups within ancient wood pastures, historic parkland, hedgerows, orchards, parks or other areas.
Development can affect ancient woodland and veteran trees, and the wildlife they support, on the site and nearby. Impacts of development in an area of ancient woodland or veteran trees can include:
• Damaging or destroying the trees or woodland • Damaging or killing veteran trees or parts of them • Damaging roots and soil, as well as the understorey (all the vegetation under the taller trees) • Polluting the ground • Changing the woodland’s water table or drainage • Damaging archaeological features or heritage assets
Impacts of development nearby can include these effects on the trees and woodland, and the species they support:
• Compacting the soil around tree roots
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• Breaking up or destroying connections between woodland and other habitats • Reducing the amount of semi natural habitats (like parks) next to ancient woodland • Changing the water table or drainage • Increasing the amount of pollution, including dust • increasing disturbance to wildlife from additional traffic and visitors • Increasing light pollution • Increasing damaging activities like fly tipping, gardens encroaching into woodland • Changing the landscape character of the area. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
The soils of this Parish are classed as boulder clay, but the very complex geology, where chalk, flint, gravels, sands and clays are all mixed together, often in very small areas, causes a particularly interesting and diverse landscape. In Plashes Wood (designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest) several soil types lie in juxtaposition, creating many “typical” ecological niches in unusual proximity. Generally, the heavier soils lie on the higher ground to the West of the A10 and in the South-East of the Parish. This gives rise to smallish fields, well-hedged and trees – possibly a relic of ancient fields.
Natural England https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1377 (as amended), is responsible for designating and assessing these sites working closely with landowners and site managers to ensure that targets to maintain and improve their condition are met.
The 2012 Government Strategy Biodiversity 2020 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/biodiversity-2020-a-strategy-for- england-s-wildlife-and-ecosystem-services (progress update July 2013) sets out commitments to bring 50% of the total area of SSSI’s into ‘favourable condition’ by 2020.
Plashes Wood is the only SSSI in Standon Parish
The following is the SSSI listing for Plashes Wood:-
County: Hertfordshire Site Name: Plashes Wood
District: East Hertfordshire
Status: Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
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Local Planning Authority: East Hertfordshire District Council
National Grid Reference: TL 382206 Area: 71.9 (ha) 117.6 (ac)
Ordnance Survey Sheet 1: 50 000: 166 1: 10 000: TL 32 SE, TL 31 NE
Date Notified (Under 1949 Act): 1969 Date of Last Revision:
Date Notified (Under 1981 Act): 1984 Date of Last Revision:
Reasons for Notification:
A rich and diverse woodland site consisting largely of Oak/Hornbeam woodland close to the northern limit of its natural distribution. It is a relatively large wood in a predominantly agricultural part of the county. The rich ground flora reflects the variation in soil types from damp, heavy clays to lighter gravels on the higher ground.
Management in the past has also contributed to the structural and species diversity. The principal components are firstly Pedunculate Oak/Hornbeam Quercus robur/Carpinus betulus as coppice with standards, whose typical ground flora, dominated by Bramble Rubus fruticosus, Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta and Dogs Mercury Mercurialis perennis is present, although suppressed by the low light intensity, due to the lack of recent management. Secondly, there are tracts of more open, mixed deciduous woodland influenced by planting and natural regeneration, mainly of Pedunculate Oak, Ash Fraxinus excelsior, Beech Fagus sylvatica and Silver Birch Betula pendula over a mixed shrub layer including Hazel Corylus avellana, Hornbeam, Elder Sambucus nigra and Blackthorn Prunus spinosa, with a diversity of ground flora species.
There are also areas of coniferous plantation with varying proportions of Oak, Ash and Beech, where despite the suppression of the shrub and field layers, species such as Early Purple Orchid Orchis mascula still survive. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report.
• Additional valuable habitats are provided by marshy clearings and ponds, wide rides, and extensive clearings dominated by Bracken Pteridium aquilinum, with an interesting flora including Hoary Cinquefoil Potentilla argentea.
Green Infrastructure
Green infrastructure is described as: a network of multi-functional greenspace…both new and existing…both rural and urban…which supports the natural and ecological processes…and is integral to the health and quality of life of sustainable communities…”
70 http://planningguidance.communities.gov.uk/blog/guidance/natural- environment/green-infrastructure/
Hertfordshire Strategic Green Infrastructure Plan: www.hertsdirect.org/docs/pdf/s/SHiP.pdf provides an overview of existing strategic green infrastructure assets within the County, including consideration of assets and proposals which are significant for national and sub national/regional green infrastructure planning;
This Strategic Green Infrastructure Plan seeks to address the need for links and connections, alternative greenspace provision and low cost, maximum benefit interventions such as improved landscape management to deliver a wider array of functions. It also looks at ways to influence sustainable living modes and transport choices through non spatial and educational projects to support spatial proposals.
The King George VI Playing Field was given to the parish in memory of those who gave their lives in the 1939-1945 war. A Memorial Fund was started after the war to fund the project. The area which was given to the Parish now comprises a playing field situated between Standon and Puckeridge, with a pavilion, cricket, football ground, bowling green and tennis courts and an area for children and during warmer months for ‘Film in the Park’. See SNP12 Amenities Report.
In Standon High Street, after passing the late 19th century houses 15/17/19 (where a forge used to be located from about 1735 to 1860) there is a field called "Burr's Meadow", originally the Vicarage Orchard. This was once the site of the Vicarage - "a fair house with a garden and orchard" - conveyed by Walter Lord Aston to the use of the Vicars of Standon in perpetuity in 1674, in return for a rent of two pairs of leather gloves each year. The last Vicar to live in this Vicarage was Richard Jeffereys who died in 1811. The house was then falling into decay and has now disappeared completely. The next Vicar, the Rev Henry Law, moved to a house in Kents Lane, roughly where the modern vicarage is today. Burr’s Meadow is today well used by residents for dog walking, scouts, occasional game of rounders, young people playing ball and a useful space on May Day.
The Allotment field off Station Road, Puckeridge is owned by Standon Charities but is managed by Standon Parish Council. There are around 74 plots. This has become very popular in the Parish in recent years and has in fact been extended. See SNP12 Amenities Report.
As well as the above, there is in excess of 29 miles of footpaths and bridleways which enable walkers and riders to reach all of the Parish. These footpaths and bridleways are extremely important and are well used by residents and also by walking groups from other villages.
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East Herts Council’s Green Infrastructure Plan can be viewed and downloaded from the Council's Website at: Green Infrastructure Plan [9Mb]
Street trees, gardens, waterways, public parks and open spaces all contribute to green infrastructure within towns and villages. Quite often such green infrastructure is the only ‘natural environment’ people connect with on a day-to- day basis.
Yet these features contribute significantly in cleaning and cooling the air, preventing flooding, providing ‘stepping stones’ for wildlife and for recreational activity and enjoyment. It is therefore important that changes to the district’s built environments contribute to the wider green infrastructure network.
Trees and hedgerows form an important part of our environment and, in the delivery of sustainable development, the retention and planting of new trees and hedgerows is crucial. Trees contribute to the amenity of the landscape, add maturity to new developments, make places more attractive and help soften the built environment. They also contribute to storm-water management, provide shading and improve air quality. See SNP6 Trees and Hedgerows Report.
Natural England https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england is committed to making sure everyone has access to the countryside. A report in 2005, called the ‘Diversity Review’, looked at what could be done to support a diverse population to take part in outdoor recreation.
The Equality Act 2010 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance also legally protects people from discrimination in the wider society, which includes access to the natural environment.
Natural England’s Outdoors for All https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outdoors-for-all-fair-access-to-a- good-quality-natural-environment works to improve opportunities for all people in England to enjoy and benefit from the natural environment.
The Outdoors for All working group brings together users and providers of services for the diverse population that would otherwise not have access to the countryside.
Natural England’s https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england work shows how access to the natural environment benefits all.
The Town and Country Planning Association sets out the following regarding Green Infrastructure http://www.tcpa.org.uk/data/files/TCPA_TWT_GI- Biodiversity-Guide.pdf
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Maintaining and restoring the natural environment will play a fundamental role in sustaining our collective future. People’s connection with nature can increase their health and well-being, one of the range of social, economic and environmental services provided by the natural environment without which society could not function. Planning for new and existing communities provides real opportunities to protect and enhance the intrinsic and practical value of the natural environment while responding to specific challenges posed by climate change. Thinking about nature should be the starting point of good planning, and is an essential component of delivering sustainable development.
The natural environment is fundamental to human well-being. Contact with nature and active recreational use of natural green spaces contributes to people’s psychological well-being and physical health – and so helps to reduce sick days, increasing business productivity and staff retention.
Nature is a valuable resource for the whole community, providing opportunities for learning, artistic expression, spiritual refreshment, research, outdoor education, exploration, recreation, exercise, and play. See SNP12 Amenities Report.
Green Infrastructure within a development should include attractive, engaging and safe outdoor spaces which meet a variety of social, health and well-being needs for local people, including contact with nature, recreation, education, active travel (including walking and cycling), water management, landscape amenity, and ‘climate cooling’. Such spaces include parks, play areas, community gardens, housing estate landscapes, playing fields, off-road walking and cycling routes, rivers, canals, road verges and structural landscaping, Local Green Space designations, Local Nature Reserves, and private gardens. Accessibility need not always be direct and physical – it can be visual and auditory.
Soils and Agricultural Land Quality
Standon is a large, irregularly shaped parish of about 7,738 acres, including 30 acres of water. Of this extent about half is arable land, rather less than half permanent grass, and the rest, about 500 acres, wood.
The soil varies, the subsoil being chalk and clay. The ground lies high with an altitude even in the Rib valley of from 200 ft. to 300 ft. above the ordnance datum, and rising to the east and west of the river. The highest point is 410 ft. on the extreme north-west of the parish.
A very large proportion of the parish was covered by the numerous common fields before the enclosure award was made in 1835 under an Act of 1831.
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Among the common fields were the Half Acres, immediately to the east of the village, Pockendon, Pudding Dane, and Cobbin's Hill on the east of the river, Puckeridge, Stanboro, Shanfield, Widen, Barwick, Stapleford, Nimdell, Ragborough, Ody (Old Hall), Perry Field, and Herne Commons on the west of the river. Other interesting field-names which occur are Great Bacchus, Upper Bacchus to the east of Colliers End, Bacchus north of this, Great and Little Artic, Strickups (once Strepock), the last three now part of the park of St. Edmund's College, Poundfield, Hop Ground, Hoppett and Colliers Croft (the last two part of Riggories Farm), all on the west of the parish in the neighbourhood of Old Hall Green; The Park, Monk's Croft (south of Great Southey Wood), Fryer's Farm, Knight's Spring, Knight's Leys, Fryer's Lawn, Fryery Croft and the Stove (reminiscent of the Knights Hospitallers), all in the neighbourhood of Standon Friars; Stags Park, evidently marking the site of the manorial park, to the west of the lordship, Park Hill on the east of the lordship, Old Lawn, Balsoms Park and Flax Ground in the neighbourhood of Lodge Farm, all probably once forming part of the demesne lands of Standon lordship.
The soils of this area are classed as boulder clay, but the very complex geology, where chalk, flint, gavels, sands and clays are all mixed together, often into very small areas, causes a particularly interesting and diverse landscape. In Plashes Wood (designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest) several soil types lie in juxtaposition, creating many “Typical” ecological niches in unusual proximity. Generally, the heavier soils lie on the higher ground to the West of the A10 and in the South-East in the parish. This gives rise to smallish fields, well-hedged and treed. To the East and North is more open arable land possibly a relic of ancient fields, enclosure having taken place following the Standon Enclosure Act of 1831. The River Rib cuts through gentle hills and provides superb countryside which extends to the Youngsbury Estate in the neighbouring parish, and thence to the Lee Valley system. Although its scale is small, the beauty and variety of the countryside within the parish attracts visitors from a wide area.
The following is a list of farms in the Parish comprising arable and pastoral:-
Standon Lodge Farm Standon Biggins Farm Standon Standon Friars Standon New Street Farm Standon Broken Green Farm Standon Great Barwick Farm Barwick Ford Dowsetts Farm Colliers End Labdens Farm Colliers End Plashes Farm Colliers End Fishers Farm Colliers End
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Mentley Farm Puckeridge Pearce’s Farm and Shop Puckeridge Hill Farm Old Hall Green Hole Farm Old Hall Green
The following is land in the Parish which is owned by Standon Charities http://www.standoncharities.org.uk (Charity No 209195):-
• The Allotment field off Station Road, Puckeridge approximately 74 plots.
• Land behind the even numbered houses on South Road, Puckeridge
• A field on the North side of the A120 as you leave Standon towards Bishop's Stortford
• The triangle of land at the end of Standon High Street which has the Pudding Stone on it
Income from the above land is used to further the Charity's objectives.
Sustainability
Sustainable Development
As set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-planning-policy- framework--2 the main purpose of planning is to contribute to the achievement of ‘sustainable development’. New growth in East Herts needs to be ‘sustainable’; it must support the local economy, provide social benefits (e.g. housing and community facilities) and protect and enhance the natural and built environment. The principles of sustainable development are reflected in the strategic objectives and incorporated into the policies of our Plan.
The NPPF also highlights the Government’s desire to promote and support the delivery of growth. Local authorities are urged to work proactively with applicants and approve proposals wherever possible – where they accord with policies in the District Plan. If the Plan is silent or out of date, local authorities are urged to grant approval, having regard to whether any adverse effects would significantly outweigh the benefits, and other aspects of the NPPF. This approach has been termed a ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’.
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International and national bodies have set out broad principles of sustainable development. Resolution 42/187 of the United Nations General Assembly http://research.un.org/en/docs/ga/quick/regular/42 defined sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
The UK Sustainable Development Strategy Securing the Future https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/securing-the-future-delivering-uk- sustainable-development-strategy set out five ‘guiding principles’ of sustainable development: living within the planet’s environmental limits; ensuring a strong, healthy and just society; achieving a sustainable economy; promoting good governance; and using sound science responsibly.
There are three dimensions to sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. These dimensions give rise to the need for the planning system to perform a number of roles:
• an economic role – contributing to building a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right type is available in the right places and at the right time to support growth and innovation; and by identifying and coordinating development requirements, including the provision of infrastructure;
• a social role – supporting strong, vibrant and healthy communities, by providing the supply of housing required to meet the needs of present and future generations; and by creating a high quality built environment, with accessible local services that reflect the community’s needs and support its health, social and cultural well-being; and
• an environmental role – contributing to protecting and enhancing our natural, built and historic environment; and, as part of this, helping to improve biodiversity, use natural resources prudently, minimise waste and pollution, and mitigate and adapt to climate change including moving to a low carbon economy.
These roles should not be undertaken in isolation, because they are mutually dependent.
Economic growth can secure higher social and environmental standards, and well- designed buildings and places can improve the lives of people and communities.
Therefore, to achieve sustainable development, economic, social and environmental gains should be sought jointly and simultaneously through the
76 planning system. The planning system should play an active role in guiding development to sustainable solutions.
Pursuing sustainable development involves seeking positive improvements in the quality of the built, natural and historic environment, as well as in people’s quality of life, including (but not limited to):
• making it easier for jobs to be created in cities, towns and villages; • moving from a net loss of bio-diversity to achieving net gains for nature; • replacing poor design with better design; • improving the conditions in which people live, work, travel and take leisure; and • widening the choice of high quality homes.
Plans and decisions need to take local circumstances into account, so that they respond to the different opportunities for achieving sustainable development in different areas.
At the heart of the National Planning Policy Framework https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-planning-policy- framework--2 is a presumption in favour of sustainable development, which should be seen as a golden thread running through both plan-making and decision-taking.
For plan-making this means that:
Local planning authorities should positively seek opportunities to meet the development needs of their area;
Local Plans should meet objectively assessed needs, with sufficient flexibility to adapt to rapid change, unless: – any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in this Framework taken as a whole; or – specific policies in this Framework indicate development should be restricted.
For decision-taking this means:
• approving development proposals that accord with the development plan without delay; and
• where the development plan is absent, silent or relevant policies are out-of- date, granting permission unless: – any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in this Framework taken as a whole; or – specific policies in this Framework indicate development should be restricted.
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Policies in Local Plans should follow the approach of the presumption in favour of sustainable development so that it is clear that development which is sustainable can be approved without delay.
All plans should be based upon and reflect the presumption in favour of sustainable development, with clear policies that will guide how the presumption should be applied locally.
The application of the presumption will have implications for how communities engage in neighbourhood planning. Critically, it will mean that neighbourhoods should:
• develop plans that support the strategic development needs set out in Local Plans, including policies for housing and economic development; plan positively to support local development, shaping and directing development in their area that is outside the strategic elements of the Local Plan; and
• identify opportunities to use Neighbourhood Development Orders to enable developments that are consistent with their neighbourhood plan to proceed.
Within the overarching roles that the planning system ought to play, a set of core land-use planning principles should underpin both plan-making and decision-taking. These 12 principles are that planning should:
• be genuinely plan-led, empowering local people to shape their surroundings, with succinct local and neighbourhood plans setting out a positive vision for the future of the area. Plans should be kept up-to-date, and be based on joint working and co-operation to address larger than local issues. They should provide a practical framework within which decisions on planning applications can be made with a high degree of predictability and efficiency;
• not simply be about scrutiny, but instead be a creative exercise in finding ways to enhance and improve the places in which people live their lives;
• proactively drive and support sustainable economic development to deliver the homes, business and industrial units, infrastructure and thriving local places that the country needs. Every effort should be made objectively to identify and then meet the housing, business and other development needs of an area, and respond positively to wider opportunities for growth. Plans should take account of market signals, such as land prices and housing affordability, and set out a clear strategy for allocating sufficient land which is suitable for development in their area, taking account of the needs of the residential and business communities;
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• always seek to secure high quality design and a good standard of amenity for all existing and future occupants of land and buildings;
• take account of the different roles and character of different areas, promoting the vitality of main urban areas, protecting the Green Belts around them, recognising the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside and supporting thriving rural communities within it;
• support the transition to a low carbon future in a changing climate, taking full account of flood risk and coastal change, and encourage the reuse of existing resources, including conversion of existing buildings, and encourage the use of renewable resources (for example, by the development of renewable energy)
• contribute to conserving and enhancing the natural environment and reducing pollution. Allocations of land for development should prefer land of lesser environmental value, where consistent with other policies in the Framework;
• encourage the effective use of land by reusing land that has been previously developed (brownfield land), provided that it is not of high environmental value;
• promote mixed use developments, and encourage multiple benefits from the use of land in urban and rural areas, recognising that some open land can perform many functions (such as for wildlife, recreation, flood risk mitigation, carbon storage, or food production);
• conserve heritage assets in a manner appropriate to their significance, so that they can be enjoyed for their contribution to the quality of life of this and future generations;
• actively manage patterns of growth to make the fullest possible use of public transport, walking and cycling, and focus significant development in locations which are or can be made sustainable; and
• take account of and support local strategies to improve health, social and cultural wellbeing for all, and deliver sufficient community and cultural facilities and services to meet local needs.
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The Government is committed to securing economic growth in order to create jobs and prosperity, building on the country’s inherent strengths, and to meeting the twin challenges of global competition and of a low carbon future.
The Government is committed to ensuring that the planning system does everything it can to support sustainable economic growth. Planning should operate to encourage and not act as an impediment to sustainable growth. Therefore significant weight should be placed on the need to support economic growth through the planning system.
To help achieve economic growth, local planning authorities should plan proactively to meet the development needs of business and support an economy fit for the 21st century.
Investment in business should not be over-burdened by the combined requirements of planning policy expectations. Planning policies should recognise and seek to address potential barriers to investment, including a poor environment or any lack of infrastructure, services or housing.
Planning policies should avoid the long term protection of sites allocated for employment use where there is no reasonable prospect of a site being used for that purpose. Land allocations should be regularly reviewed. Where there is no reasonable prospect of a site being used for the allocated employment use, applications for alternative uses of land or buildings should be treated on their merits having regard to market signals and the relative need for different land uses to support sustainable local communities.
Planning policies should support economic growth in rural areas in order to create jobs and prosperity by taking a positive approach to sustainable new development. To promote a strong rural economy, local and neighbourhood plans should:
• support the sustainable growth and expansion of all types of business and enterprise in rural areas, both through conversion of existing buildings and well-designed new buildings;
• promote the development and diversification of agricultural and other land- based rural businesses;
• support sustainable rural tourism and leisure developments that benefit businesses in rural areas, communities and visitors, and which respect the character of the countryside. This should include supporting the provision and expansion of tourist and visitor facilities in appropriate locations where identified needs are not met by existing facilities in rural service centres; and
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• promote the retention and development of local services and community facilities in villages, such as local shops, meeting places, sports venues, cultural buildings, public houses and places of worship.
The Government has issued advice that a ‘model policy’ should be included within local plans, which reiterates national guidance. This policy is set out below.
Policy DPS7 Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] The District Council will work proactively with applicants jointly to find solutions which mean that proposals can be approved wherever possible, and to secure development that improves the economic, social and environmental conditions in the area.
Planning applications that accord with the policies in the Draft District Plan (and, where relevant, policies in Neighbourhood Plans) will be approved without delay, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Where there are no policies relevant to the application or relevant policies are out of date at the time of making the decision then the Council will grant permission unless material considerations indicate otherwise taking into account whether:
Any adverse impacts of granting permission would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national- planning-policy-framework--2 taken as a whole.
Climate Change
The Government has taken a number of steps to limit the UK’s emissions of greenhouse gases through legally binding targets, both now and in the future. The UK has been signed up to the Kyoto Protocol http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php since 1995.
The Climate Change Act http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2008/27/contents was passed in 2008 and established a framework to develop an economically credible emissions reduction path. It also strengthened the UK’s leadership internationally by highlighting the role it would take in contributing to urgent collective action to tackle climate change under the Kyoto Protocol.
The Climate Change Act https://www.theccc.org.uk/tag/climate-change-act/ includes the following:
2050 Target. The act commits the UK to reducing emissions by at least 80% in 2050 from 1990 levels. This target was based on advice from the CCC report:
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Building a Low-carbon Economy. The 80% target includes GHG emissions from the devolved administrations, which currently accounts for around 20% of the UK’s total emissions.
Carbon Budgets. The Act requires the Government to set legally binding ‘carbon budgets’. A carbon budget is a cap on the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the UK over a five-year period. The Committee provides advice on the appropriate level of each carbon budget which are designed to reflect cost effective path to achieving the long terms objectives. The first four carbon budgets have been put into legislation and run up to 2027.
The Committee on Climate Change was set up to advise the Government on emissions targets, and report to Parliament on progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It includes the Adaptation Sub-Committee (ASC) which scrutinises and advises on the Government’s programme for adapting to climate change.
A National Adaptation Plan https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010- to-2015-government-policy-climate-change-adaptation/2010-to-2015- government-policy-climate-change-adaptation requires the Government to assess the UK’s risks from climate change, prepare a strategy to address them, and encourage critical organisations to do the same. For more detail, visit the UK adaptation policy page.
Climate change is caused in part by greenhouse gases that are primarily produced through the burning of fossil fuels. Problems commonly associated with climate change include flooding and extreme weather patterns. Climate change is both a global and local issue.
The Parish Council supports The East Herts Submission District Plan policy INT1 to ensure that Standon Parish makes the fullest contribution possible to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change and the transition to a low carbon economy, focusing on renewable energy and low risk of flooding.
Adapting to climate change for Standon Parish through the Neighbourhood Development Plan: (Policy SP1)
This will be supported through a combination of measures including; reducing the use of fossil fuels promoting the efficient use of natural resources, there-use and recycling of resources, and the production and consumption of renewable energy
82 encouraging and facilitating the development of low and zero carbon energy flexibly through a range of technologies linking the provision of low and zero carbon energy infrastructure in new developments to existing buildings. the consideration of building to Passivhaus standards for residential, commercial, public and industrial buildings. http://www.passivhaus.org.uk/
The definition of Passivhaus is
“A Passivhaus is a building, for which thermal comfort can be achieved solely by post- heating or postcooling of the fresh air mass, which is required to achieve sufficient indoor air quality conditions – without the need for additional recirculation of air.”
Use Eco features wherever possible in the design of new buildings including- photovoltaic panels on the roof, feeding into the National Grid.
Be naturally heated, mainly through the sun
Be naturally ventilated
Harvest rainwater
Use some solar thermal hot water
“Eco-house: A broad term for a home designed to reduce energy consumption, water use and avoid using environmentally damaging materials. Ideally built using locally available materials; these can include more unconventional materials such as straw bales for external walls or a living roof.” http://great-home.co.uk/energy-efficient-homes-eco-houses-zero-carbon-homes- and- passivhaus/
To take account of Climate Change over the longer term, risks will be managed through consultation with the Local Plan and the wider Community through suitable adaptation measures, including through the planning of green infrastructure. (NPPF paragraph 99)
AECOM prepared (on behalf of the participating Local Authorities of Hertfordshire in July 2010) the Hertfordshire Renewable and Low Carbon Energy Technical Study stating that:
"Hertfordshire has potential to exploit a range of microgeneration technologies", including: Solar thermal and Photovoltaic
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Heat pumps (air and ground sourced) may be suited to areas not served by gas and where under floor heating is possible.
Biomass heaters are ideal in lower density areas for individual buildings and where Direct Heating is feasible in higher density areas
There is limited data on energy generation from building mounted wind turbines in urban locations but early examples appear to have generated significantly less than was predicted by manufacturers and installations should carefully consider local topography.
Fuel cells can be used as Combined Heat and Power systems in buildings but are considered to be an emerging technology and currently the costs are high.
In the NPPF section 10. Meeting the challenge of climate change, flooding (and coastal change) The document states under paragraph 95 -
To support the move to a low carbon future, local planning authorities should: plan for new development in locations and ways which reduce greenhouse gas emissions; actively support energy efficiency improvements to existing buildings; and when setting any local requirement for a building’s sustainability, do so in a way consistent with the Government’s zero carbon buildings policy and adopt nationally described standard and paragraph 97- (Local Planning Authorities) should support community-led initiatives for renewable and low carbon energy
UK Government and Climate Change
Preventing dangerous climate change, and preparing for it, touches on all aspects of the economy. Therefore many government departments provide input into climate change policies. The two key government departments charged with setting climate policy are:
Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-energy- and-industrial-strategy (which took over the responsibility for climate change policy, following the abolition of the Department for Energy and Climate Change)
For up-to-date information about current policies in the UK for tackling climate change see https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of- energy-climate-change
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Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/climate-change-adaptation-information-for-local- authorities leads on the UK’s domestic adaptation policy. It is responsible for developing a National Adaptation Programme to address the risks set out in the first Climate Change Risk Assessment.
Government is working with business, Local Government, civil society and public sector organisations to develop this programme.
In addition to supporting the delivery of appropriately sited green energy, effective spatial planning is an important part of a successful response to climate change as it can influence the emission of greenhouse gases. In doing so, local planning authorities should ensure that protecting the local environment is properly considered alongside the broader issues of protecting the global environment. Planning can also help increase resilience to climate change impact through the location, mix and design of development.
Addressing climate change is one of the core land use planning principles which the National Planning Policy Framework https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-planning-policy- framework--2 expects to underpin both plan-making and decision-taking. To be found sound Local Plans will need to reflect this principle and enable the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework. These include the requirements for local authorities to adopt proactive strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change in line with the provisions and objectives of the Climate Change Act 2008, and co-operate to deliver strategic priorities which include climate change.
In addition to the statutory requirement to take the Framework into account in the preparation of Local Plans, there is a statutory duty on local planning authorities to include policies in their Local Plan designed to tackle climate change and its impacts. This complements the sustainable development duty on plan- makers and the expectation that neighbourhood plans will contribute to the achievement of sustainable development. The National Planning Policy Framework emphasises that responding to climate change is central to the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
Section 19 (1A) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/5/section/19 requires local planning authorities to include in their Local Plans “policies designed to secure that the development and use of land in the local planning authority’s area contribute to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change”. This will be a consideration when a Local Plan is examined.
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The Climate Change Act 2008 establishes a legally binding target to reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% in 2050 from1990 levels.
To drive progress and set the UK on a pathway towards this target, the Act introduced a system of carbon budgets including a target that the annual equivalent of the carbon budget for the period including 2020 is at least 34% lower than 1990. More information is available from https://www.gov.uk/guidance/climate-change-explained
The Climate Change Act 2008 also requires the government:
• to assess regularly the risks to the UK of the current and predicted impact of climate change;
• to set out its climate change adaptation objectives; and
• to set out its proposals and policies for meeting these objectives.
These requirements are fulfilled by the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-climate-change-risk- assessment-government-report and the National Adaptation Programme Report https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/climate-change-adaptation- reporting-second-round-reports respectively, which may provide helpful information for plan-making.
There are many opportunities to integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives into the Local Plan. Sustainability appraisal can be used to help shape appropriate strategies in line with the statutory duty on climate change and ambition in the Climate Change Act 2008.
Examples of mitigating climate change by reducing emissions:
Reducing the need to travel and providing for sustainable transport Providing opportunities for renewable and low carbon energy technologies
Providing opportunities for decentralised energy and heating
Promoting low carbon design approaches to reduce energy consumption in buildings, such as passive solar design
Examples of adapting to a changing climate:
Considering future climate risks when allocating development sites to ensure risks are understood over the development’s lifetime Considering the impact of and promoting design responses to flood risk and coastal change for the lifetime of the development
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Considering availability of water and water infrastructure for the lifetime of the development and design responses to promote water efficiency and protect water quality Promoting adaptation approaches in design policies for developments and the public realm
Engaging with appropriate partners, including utility providers, communities, health authorities, regulators and emergency planners, statutory environmental bodies, Local Nature Partnerships, Local Resilience Forums, and climate change partnerships will help to identify relevant local approaches.
Particular attention should be paid to integrating adaptation and mitigation approaches and looking for ‘win-win’ solutions that will support sustainable development. This could be achieved in a variety of ways, for example:
• by maximising summer cooling through natural ventilation in buildings and avoiding solar gain;
• through district heating networks that include tri-generation (combined cooling, heat and power); or
• through the provision of multi-functional green infrastructure, which can reduce urban heat islands, manage flooding and help species adapt to climate change – as well as contributing to a pleasant environment which encourages people to walk and cycle.
There is a need to be aware of, and avoid the risk of maladaptation (adaptation that could become more harmful than helpful). For example, designing buildings to maximise solar gain in winter without thinking through the implications for overheating in summer.
Sustainability appraisal and, where required, Environmental Impact Assessment, can be useful for testing the integration of mitigation and adaptation measures and the long term implications of decisions.
Local risk assessments can be used to identify those climate risks, including those arising from severe weather events, the planning system can address. Risk assessments could consider the implications for the built environment and development, infrastructure, services and biodiversity, and their subsequent implications for vulnerable groups and community cohesion. Identifying those impacts which pose most potential risk or disruption to the provision of local services will enable vulnerability to be assessed and areas suitable for development to be identified and adaptation responses to be put in place.
Other parts of a Local Plan’s evidence base will also include information on climate change risks, such as the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and Water Resource
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Management Plan and water cycle studies. Infrastructure providers hold information on the extent of supply and network constraints and their existing plans to reinforce those networks and capacity. Other service providers may also have carried out risk assessments that have implications for planning, such as health and social service providers.
Local studies can also be undertaken to provide a more detailed assessment of local vulnerability to climate impacts and the effects of extreme weather events. Further information is available from the Environment Agency’s Climate Ready Support Service https://www.gov.uk/guidance/climate-change-agreements--2 and on the climate adaptation pages of GOV.UK. www.gov.uk/government/policies/adapting-to-climate-change. The National Planning Policy Framework https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-planning-policy- framework--2 expects local planning authorities when setting any local requirement for a building’s sustainability to do so in a way consistent with the Government’s zero carbon buildings policy and adopt nationally described standards. Local requirements should form part of a Local Plan following engagement with appropriate partners, and will need to be based on robust and credible evidence and pay careful attention to viability. In this respect.
The DBEIS and Defra websites provide information on the Government’s climate change policy, including the National Adaptation Programme and the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment, which is updated every 5 years.
The Committee for Climate Change (including the Adaptation Sub-Committee) is an independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act 2008 to advise the UK Government on emissions targets and reports to Parliament on progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for climate change.
Natural England’s website http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/35033 provides information on using green infrastructure to help places and communities mitigate and adapt to climate change.
East Herts Submission District Plan The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] sets out the following:-
Climate change is caused in part by greenhouse gases that are primarily produced through the burning of fossil fuels. Problems commonly associated with climate change include flooding and extreme weather patterns. Climate change is both a global and local issue.
Building Futures is a Hertfordshire guide to promoting sustainability in development, including modules on Climate Change Adaptation and also on Energy
88 and Climate Change. Both modules include practical advice in relation to measures which can help to address climate change, and which should be considered alongside the policy requirements of the District Plan.
Building Futures is an interactive website which can be accessed at: www.hertslink.org/buildingfutures
Climate change is expected to result in hazards such as heatwaves, flooding, and drought. Adaptation means improving our resilience to such impacts. This section addresses the issue of overheating. Measures related directly to water and climate change adaptation, including flood risk, water efficiency, and sustainable urban drainage.
Measures to address overheating may be undertaken at building level, neighbourhood scale, and town or urban extension scale. Examples of measures include:
• using site landform and landscape to benefit from shelter, to minimise heat losses in winter, provide adequate shade in summer, and to catch breezes
• using deciduous trees to maximise shade in summer and allow light in during the winter, or structural or functional design to achieve a similar effect
• minimising energy demand, for example using cross-ventilation, to avoid a vicious circle whereby increased demand for air conditioning generates further climate-changing emissions
• using materials that prevent the penetration of heat to a building, which can include green roofs or walls, light coloured materials in exposed surfaces, and for large car parks; road energy systems which store heat and release it during the winter months
• providing green infrastructure including woodlands, street trees and green landscaping, parks, sports grounds, allotments, and green roofs. Such measures may have a number of wider benefits, including reduced energy bills and improving the quality of the built environment.
The Building Futures Climate Change Adaptation http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5629923804839936 contains further guidance on adaptation solutions.
Policy CC1 Climate Change Adaptation - East Herts District Plan The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] Chapter 22 states:
All new development should:
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Demonstrate how the design, materials, construction and operation of the development would minimise overheating in summer and reduce the need for heating in winter; and
Integrate green infrastructure from the beginning of the design process to contribute to urban greening, including the public realm. Elements that can contribute to this include appropriate tree planting, green roofs and walls, and soft landscaping.
Carbon emissions originate from a wide range of sources, including transport, construction, and all forms of energy use including heating and appliances. The Climate Change Act (2008) sets out a legally binding target for reducing the UK's carbon dioxide emissions, in order to mitigate or reduce the impacts of climate change. Planning plays a role in terms of locating development so as to minimise the need to travel, which is addressed in the transport policies and also in the development strategy for the district.
There are four main types of approach to reduction of carbon emissions from development. These are as follows: 1. Reduce energy demand by providing natural ventilation and illumination, good insulation, and shading as described in relation to climate change adaptation 2. Increase energy efficiency through the use of efficient services and appliances, and low-energy lighting 3. Generate heat and/or power through on-site low and zero carbon technologies such as Combined Heat and Power (CHP), solar panels, biomass boilers, or heat pumps 4. Offsetting on-site carbon emissions through off-site means, for example retrofitting existing buildings elsewhere, investment in energy schemes such as district heating, payment into a community investment fund, or use of Green Energy Tariffs. These are known as ‘allowable solutions’. Policy CC2 Climate Change Mitigation – East Herts District Plan The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] Chapter 22 states:
All new developments should demonstrate how carbon dioxide emissions will be minimised across the development site, taking account of all levels of the energy hierarchy achieving above and beyond the requirements of Building Regulations.
Carbon reduction should be met on-site unless it can be demonstrated that this is not feasible or viable. In such cases effective offsetting measures to reduce on- site carbon emissions will be accepted as allowable solutions.
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The energy embodied in construction materials should be reduced through re-use and recycling of existing materials and the use of sustainable materials and local sourcing.
There are a variety of opportunities for generating clean energy. The Hertfordshire Renewable and Low Carbon Energy Technical Study (July 2010) includes energy opportunity maps for East Hertfordshire, which may assist in the selection of appropriate carbon saving methods depending on the location of development proposals.
The Hertfordshire Renewable and Low Carbon Energy Technical Study (July 2010) can be viewed and downloaded from the Hertfordshire County Council Website at: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/envplan/plan/renewableenergy/
The East of England Plan 2008 required 10% of energy to come from decentralised, renewable or low carbon technologies for new development of more than 10 dwellings of 1000m2 of non-residential floorspace. Despite the revocation of the Plan in January 2013, the District Council, in line with its commitment to mitigate the impacts of climate change, will take forward this policy requirement.
At the same time as promoting renewable energy, the Council is also mindful of the need to ensure that an appropriate balance is maintained between the benefits of renewable energy and other constraints and considerations. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities- and-local-government issued in July 2013 specific planning guidance for renewable and low carbon energy. Government planning practice guidance can be a material consideration in planning decisions and should generally be followed unless there are clear reasons not to.
Planning Practice Guidance for Renewable and Low Carbon Energy (updated 18.6.2015) http://planningguidance.communities.gov.uk/blog/guidance/renewable-and-low- carbon-energy/
In shaping local criteria for inclusion in Local Plans and considering planning applications in the meantime, it is important to be clear that:
• the need for renewable or low carbon energy does not automatically override environmental protections;
• cumulative impacts require particular attention, especially the increasing impact that wind turbines and large scale solar farms can have on landscape
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and local amenity as the number of turbines and solar arrays in an area increases;
• local topography is an important factor in assessing whether wind turbines and large scale solar farms could have a damaging effect on landscape and recognise that the impact can be as great in predominately flat landscapes as in hilly or mountainous areas;
• great care should be taken to ensure heritage assets are conserved in a manner appropriate to their significance, including the impact of proposals on views important to their setting;
• proposals in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and in areas close to them where there could be an adverse impact on the protected area, will need careful consideration;
• protecting local amenity is an important consideration which should be given proper weight in planning decisions.
Taking account of this guidance, Policy CC3 takes a balanced approach, promoting renewable and low carbon energy where the impacts can be satisfactorily mitigated.
Policy CC3 Renewable and Low Carbon Energy – East Herts District Plan states: The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] Chapter 22
All new development of more than 10 dwellings or 1,000m2 of non-residential floorspace must produce at least 10% of the total predicted energy requirements from on-site renewable technologies or decentralised renewable sources unless it can be demonstrated that this is not feasible or viable.
The Council will permit new development of sources of renewable energy generation subject to assessment of the impacts upon:
• environmental and historic assets; • visual amenity and landscape character; • local transport networks; • the amenity of neighbouring residents and sensitive uses; and • air quality and human health.
In considering the impact of renewable technologies, the Council will attach particular importance to maintaining the special countryside character of the rural area, including the preservation of long-distance views from public rights of way.
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Some renewable forms of energy used for heating may, cumulatively or in isolation, result in a rise in particulates which can be harmful to human health. For this reason such technologies will not be permitted within or near the urban areas of settlements.
Environmental Quality
Pollution
The East Herts Draft District Plan Chapter 24 The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] sets out the following guidelines:-
The control of pollution is critical to achieving the District Plan's strategic objectives by promoting healthy lifestyles and an enhanced quality of life for residents and visitors to the district. Pollution control through development also plays a significant role in planning for climate change and working in harmony with the environment to conserve natural resources and increase biodiversity.
Land may be contaminated and/or unstable for a number of reasons, such as previous commercial use or use as a landfill site. Such land can be re-used for new purposes but special remedial measures may be needed to reduce hazards arising from the previous use, and new buildings may need to be specially designed. Developers are responsible for ensuring that unacceptable risks from contamination and land instability are not present on site. If necessary, any risks will be successfully addressed through the remediation of contaminated land without undue environmental impact during and following the development.
For more information on the East Herts Council's Contaminated Land Strategy The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] Chapter 24.
Noise Pollution
The impact of noise on the environment can be detrimental to health and quality of life. There is therefore a need to control the introduction of noise sources into the environment, as well as ensuring that new noise sensitive development is located away from existing sources of significant noise.
One of the most common causes of noise pollution is from traffic noise. In East Herts the proximity of both Luton and Stansted Airports to the district has a specific impact which needs to be taken into account when development proposals are considered.
Noise can also affect the tranquillity of an area. Tranquillity is a key characteristic of the natural environment. Tranquil spaces, often located within the more rural parts of the district, play a multi-functional role as part of the district's green infrastructure network. They attract visitors, improve health and wellbeing by
93 offering a place to relax and exercise, provide a haven for wildlife and improve biodiversity and enhance the character and identity of a place. These areas will be protected from noise pollution to ensure that areas defined by their tranquillity are protected from development that generates noise.
Policy EQ2 of East Herts Draft District Plan states: The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] Chapter 24, Development should be designed and operated in a way that minimises the direct and cumulative impact of noise on the surrounding environment. Particular consideration should be given to the proximity of noise sensitive uses.
Noise sensitive development should be located away from existing noise generating sources or programmed developments where possible to prevent prejudicing the continued existing operations.
The use of design, layout, landscaping tools and construction methods should be employed to reduce the impact of surrounding noise sources.
Light Pollution
Light pollution can cause sleep disturbance and annoyance and is caused by the brightening of the night sky over inhabited areas and excessive brightness from light causing high levels of glare. Dark night skies are important for health and wellbeing, and for the conservation of natural habitats and the behaviour of nocturnal animals and birds.
In addition to impacting upon human health and natural habitats, light pollution is a sign of wasted energy from excessive lighting. Lighting at night in commercial areas is often used for security and to increase visual prominence. Lighting schemes must therefore be designed carefully as part of the overall development proposal to prevent light spillage and glare and to represent the minimum necessary for commercial and security purposes. Schemes will be considered against the latest national guidance and lighting standards. Standon Parish Council are in the process of updating the street lights they own from SOX to LED.
Policy EQ3 of East Herts Draft District Plan states: The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] Chapter 24, External lighting schemes must:
Not have an unacceptable adverse impact on neighbouring uses or the wider landscape;
Be the minimum required for security and operational purposes;
Minimise the potential glare and spillage;
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Minimise harm to the amenity of residents and road users and prevent impacts on the local ecology.
Where appropriate, the District Council will seek to control the times of illumination.
Air Quality
Clean air is critical to health and wellbeing and quality of life and is also crucial to support habitats and biodiversity. The nature of the district, with its dispersed towns, villages and hamlets with poor inter-connectivity by passenger transport, relative affluence and mobility, high car-ownership and close proximity to London and larger towns and cities, all contribute to higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions per person than neighbouring districts.
More information on Air Quality Management Areas can be found on the Council’s Website at The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] Chapter 24.5
Some renewable forms of energy used for heating may also, cumulatively or in isolation, result in a rise in particulates which can be harmful to human health. For this reason such technologies will not be permitted within or near the urban areas of settlements.
Policy EQ4 of East Herts Draft District Plan states The East Herts Submission District Plan [9Mb] Chapter 24, Development and land uses should minimise potential impacts on local air quality both during construction and operation including the operation of heating, cooling and extraction units.
Development within designated Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs), or development which may have an impact on these areas, must have regard to the Council’s latest strategy and action plan for the reduction of pollutants in the defined catchment, maintaining acceptable levels of air quality. Evidence of mitigation measures will be required.
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Rights of Way
Footpaths and Bridleways
Rights of Way are footpaths, bridleways and byways which have public access. They are all highways which the public have the right to pass and re-pass along.
Standon Parish has in excess of 29 miles of footpaths and bridleways which enable walkers and riders to reach all of the Parish. These footpaths and bridleway are extremely important and are well used by residents and also by walking groups from other villages. Improvements in recent years have led to these being generally well-kept and accessible. The adoption of the “Parish Paths Partnership” initiative 10 http://www.groundwork.org.uk/Sites/east/pages/parish-paths-partnership-herts- beds-and-cambs has focused fresh attention upon the Rights of Way network. Locally, the resolution of a long running dispute, in respect of a footpath, which had been obstructed by the construction of a large pond, has resulted in significant gain to the community, for the closure of the offending route several new paths have been created, providing new circular walks from the village centres.
Two new linking footpaths have also recently been established along with a new footbridge in the north eastern corner of the Parish.
Hertfordshire has an extensive Rights of Way network of over 5200 paths totalling more than 3000km. These paths are shown on a map and have a written description in a legal record called the Definitive Map & Statement, which is looked after by the County Council's Rights of Way Service at County Hall, Hertford.
Rights of Way are highways over which the public have the right to pass and re- pass and are protected by law. Unless they are stopped up by legal means, they remain 'highways' even if they are not recognisable on the ground, hence the saying 'Once a highway, always a highway'. They are recorded on the definitive map and described in the statements as explained below. Hertfordshire has an extensive rights of way network of over 5200 paths totalling more than 3000km.
How Rights of Way are used:-
Footpaths shown by yellow waymarks
These can be used on foot only. They can be used by pedestrians but not by horse riders, cyclists, or vehicle users. Pedestrians can bring dogs, wheelchairs and pushchairs etc., but not bicycles.
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Bridleways shown by blue waymarks these can be used on foot, horse and bicycle. You cannot use a vehicle on bridleways. Cyclists must give way to walkers and horse riders.
Restricted byways shown by purple waymarks
These can be used on foot, horse, bicycle and horse and carriage. You cannot use a motorised vehicle on a restricted byway.
Byways open to all traffic (BOAT) - shown by red waymarks
They can be used on foot, horse, bicycle, horse and carriage and motorised vehicles. However, they are mainly used by walkers and riders. BOATs have the same rights as country roads but are usually unsurfaced and are sometimes called green lanes. Any vehicle using a BOAT must be taxed, have a valid MOT, be insured and the driver must hold a valid driving license.
Permissive paths shown by white waymarks
These can be used by permission of the landowner. They have no legal status and the landowner can remove the permission at any time. They are usually the responsibility of the landowner to maintain.
Definitive Map and Statement
This is the legal map and written description of all rights of way in Hertfordshire. The Definitive Map shows the public rights of way and their status.
The Definitive Statement is a list describing each public right of way shown on the map.
Together they provide conclusive evidence for the right of way shown, although there may be other paths with public rights that are not yet recorded. It is looked after by the Rights of Way Service at County Hall, Hertford.
LAF https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/recycling-waste-and- environment/countryside-access/local-access-forum-laf- hertfordshire/hertfordshire-local-access-forum-laf.aspx is a strategic advisory body. Their role is to advise the County Council and other bodies on access issues.
One of the first tasks the Hertfordshire LAF considered was the Countryside Agency's draft 'Open Country' maps.
Since then they have also been involved in the RoWIP Rights of Way Improvement Plan https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/recycling-waste-and- environment/countryside-access/local-access-forum-laf- hertfordshire/hertfordshire-local-access-forum-laf.aspx
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The LAF is also consulted on:
Proposals to appoint wardens on land where the right of access applies
Byelaws affecting access land
Long term restrictions and exclusions of access
Rights of way improvement plan implementation
The detailed work programme is determined by the LAF itself. However, while the Forum will need to deal with all forms of access, in general it will advise on strategy and planning issues and it is not expected to get involved in specific casework or individual routes. https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/recycling-waste-and- environment/countryside-access/local-access-forum-laf- hertfordshire/hertfordshire-local-access-forum-laf.aspx
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List of Public Rights of Way
Map Ref
001 FP HCC 32
Commence from end of county road by the Mill Race, Standon, thence generally N to its end. On E bank of River Rib SE of gravel pit. Width Limitations
002 FP HCC 32
Commence from parish boundary S of Gatesbury Wood thence generally S and W to end of county road by Mill Race, Standon. Width Limitations
003 BR HCC 32 HCC 33 Commences from parish boundary at SW corner of Darney Wood and BR16 (Braughing) thence SW and S across Pockendon Field to join A120 W of Poors Land. Width Limitations
004 FP HCC 32
Commences from A120E of Standon Mill thence S to join FP5 E of Almhouses. Width Limitations
005 FP HCC 32 HCC 33 Commences from county road at sharp bend E of Almshouses, Standon thence E and NE along bank of stream across Restricted Byway 6 to county road S of Poors Land. Width Limitations
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006 RB HCC 33
Commences from county road S of Poors Lane thence SE across FP5 through Standon Friars to join Wellpond Green Road E of Bromley Road Width Limitations
009 BOAT HCC 33
Commences from end of county road at Broken Green thence S to county road NE of former "Nags Head" P.H. Wellpond Green. Width Limitations
010 FP HCC 33
Commences from BOAT 9 S of Broken Green thence SE and E to parish boundary S of Cuckoo Wood to join FP1 (Little Hadham). Width Limitations
011 FP HCC 33
Commences from county road SE of Standon Friars at TL 4098 2205 thence generally SE along NE edge of field to TL 4113 2193 thence SE, E and SE to county road W of Sun’s Wood. Width 1.22m between TL 4098 2205 and TL 4113 2193 Limitations
012 FP HCC 32
Commences from Puckeridge - Station Road opposite Memorial Recreation Ground thence NE across railway thence N along eastern railway fence to parish boundary to join FP35 (Braughing). Width Limitations
014 FP HCC 32
Commences at County Road by Ford thence S to River Rib thence S along W bank to TL 3919 2163 thence generally S for a distance of approx 165m to join BR 19 at TL 3914 2146 W of the Lordship. Width 6 feet (1.83m) between TL 3919 2163 and TL 3914 2146 Limitations
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015 FP HCC 32
Commences from Standon village opposite Mill thence S along W of side of industrial site to county road. Width Limitations
017 FP HCC 32 Commences from county road W of Ford over River Rib thence W and NW across Puckeridge Field to Ware Road opposite road to Old Hall Green. Width Limitations
018 FP HCC 32
Commences from Ware Road opposite St. Edmunds College Lodge thence SE to the western boundary of the A10 at TL 3777 2158. Recommencing at the eastern boundary of the A10 at TL 3781 2155 and running SE to county road at NW corner of Plashes Wood. Width
019 BR HCC 32 HCC 33 Commences from county road at S corner of Kitchencroft Wood thence E to the Lordship thence S and E to cross FP 87 at disused railway line at TL 3953 2116, continuing E to FP24 thence SE to join BR21 N of Standon Lodge thence S and SE to parish boundary at SW corner of Vineyard Spring to join BR5 (Much Hadham). Width Limitations
021 BR HCC 33
Commences from end of county road S of Balsams thence SW to join BR19 and FP20 N of Standon Lodge. Width Limitations
022 FP HCC 33
Commences from county road W of New Hall Bromley thence SW past Bowles Wood to join FP23 and FP86 at TL 4091 2113. Width Limitations
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023 FP HCC 33
Commences from county road SW of Standon Friars thence S to a junction with FP85 at TL 4050 2159 thence SE past Balsams and across county road to join FP22 and FP86 W of Bowles Wood at TL 4091 2113. Width Limitations
HCC 32 024 FP Commences from county road opposite Almshouses thence S to Plantation thence SE to junction with FP85 at TL 3994 2157 thence S to join BR19. Width
Limitations
025 FP HCC 32
Commences from county road opposite RC Church at St Edmunds College at TL 3697 2199 thence W for approx 100m to TL 3687 2199 and WNW for approx 140m to road to Kettle Green at TL 3673 2202. Width 2m Limitations None
026 FP HCC 32
Commences from Parish Boundary at junction with FP 45 and FP 58 (Great Munden) thence E to Hole Farm thence E to W boundary of A10 Puckeridge Bypass at TL 3811 2279. Recommences on E of Bypass at TL 3816 2278 thence ESE to Cambridge Road. Width Limitations
027 FP HCC 32
Commences from parish boundary at junction with FP 57 (Great Munden) thence E and NE along northern boundary of Kings Wood thence E to N of Tillcroft Spring continuing E to W Boundary of A10 Puckeridge Bypass at TL 3842 2338. Recommences on E side of Bypass at TL 3846 2338 thence generally E to Puckeridge High Street. Width Limitations
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030 BR HCC 32 Commences from county road near Ford across River Rib W of railway line, thence SE to western railway fence S across BR19 continuing S to Ford at Latchford. Width Limitations
032 BOAT HCC 32
Commences from A10 S of former "Fox and Hounds" P.H. thence SW along Rigery Lane to end SE of Rigery Farm Width Limitations
033 FP HCC 32
Commences from county road N of Hill Farm thence SW and SE to join BOAT 32 SW of former "Fox and Hounds" P.H. Width Limitations
034 FP HCC 32
Commences from end of county road NE of Farther Wood thence W and SW along NW edge of Farther Wood thence NW and W to parish boundary to join FP27 (Little Munden). Width Limitations
035 FP HCC 32 HCC 46 Commences from FP34 at Northern end of Black Grove thence SW past Grove to county road at Standon Green End. Width Limitations
037 FP HCC 46
Commences from A10 opposite county road from Barwick thence W along parish boundary to join Standon Green End Road.
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Width Limitations
041 BR HCC 32 Commences from county road N of Hanging Wood Farm thence W between Plashes Wood and Hanging Wood Plantation thence SW to Plashes Farm, thence NW and W through Plashes Wood to the eastern boundary of the A10 and junction with Standon BR 88 at TL 3743 2048. Recommencing at the western boundary of the A10 at TL 3738 2048 continuing generally west to N of St Mary's Church. Width Limitations
042 FP HCC 32 HCC 46 Commences at a junction with Standon BR88 at TL 3733 2011 thence SE past old chalk pit to Barwick road at junction with BR43 at SW corner of Badgerseye Plantation. Width Limitations
043 BR HCC 32 HCC 46 Commences from BR41 S of Plashes Farm thence SW along western edge of Badgerseye Plantation to junction with county road and FP42. Width Limitations.
044 BR HCC 32
Commences from county road at Hangingwood Farm thence generally W through Hangingwood to Plashes Farm junction with BR41.Width Limitations
045 FP HCC 32
Commences from BR41 at NE corner of Hangingwood Plantation thence N and NW along edge of Plashes Wood to join BR19 W of new Plantation. Width Limitations
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048 FP HCC 32 HCC 33 Commences from end of county road at Arches Hall thence E to cross railway and FP87 at TL 4002 2042 thence NE to BR19 S of Standon Lodge. Width Limitations
049 BR HCC 46
HCC 47 Commences from BR50 thence S and W to join BR51 N of Bartram's Farm. Width
Limitations
050 BR HCC 47
Commences from BR49 NE of Bartram's Farm thence SE to cross railway thence along E boundary fence to parish boundary. Width Limitations
051 BR HCC 32
Commences from junction with BR49 thence NW to county road SE of Hangingwood Farm Width limitations
052 FP HCC 32
HCC 46
Commences from FP48 at Arches Hall thence S to BR51.
Width Limitations
054 FP HCC 46
Commences from county road N of Great Pryor Spinney thence N to Biggins Farm
Width Limitations
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056 FP HCC 46
Commences from FP54 N of Biggins Farm thence NW and NE to join BR51 NW of Bartrams Farm. Width Limitations
058 FP HCC 32 HCC 46 Commences from county road SE of Hangingwood Farm thence S to E bank of River Rib past Old Butts, thence S past gravel pit to parish boundary W of Little Barwick Wood. Width
Limitations
059 FP HCC 32
Commences from Latchford at footbridge over River Rib thence generally NW to NE corner of Plashes Wood. Recommences from FP45 approx 100m NW or previous junction thence NW to junction with county road south of BR19. Width
Limitations
060 FP HCC 46
Commences at the county road and runs S to Great Barwick Manor and its junction with Standon 62 BR (TL 3853 1891). Width Limitations
062 BR HCC 46
Commences at parish boundary and junction with Thundridge 45 BR (TL 3851 1891), runs SE for a distance of approx. 20m to its junction with Standon 60 FP (TL 3853 1891) thence SE for approximately 70m to its junction with the County Road at Barwick Ford (TL 3859 1888). Width 3m Limitations the right to erect gates across the route at TL 3859 1888
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071 RB HCC 33
Commences from end of county road N of New Hall, Bromley, thence SW to county road NW of "Fox and Hounds" P.H. Width Limitations
072 BOAT HCC 33
Commences from end of county road N of New Hall, Bromley thence S to county road E of Bromley Hall Farm. Width Limitations
073 FP HCC 33
Commences from BOAT 72 at New Hall thence S to parish boundary N of water works. Width imitations
074 FP HCC 33
Commences from BOAT 72 thence E to join FP 4a (Little Hadham) at parish boundary. Width Limitations
075 FP HCC 33
Commences from county road by former "Fox and Hounds" P.H. thence E across BOAT 72 and FP 73 to parish boundary and FP4 (Little Hadham). Width Limitations
076 FP HCC 33
Commences at parish boundary from county road W of Sun's Wood thence SE and SW along boundary to join county road N of water works. Width Limitations
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078 BR HCC 32
Commences from FP 26 at Hold Farm thence E along N edge of Broadfield Spring to TL 3790 2263 then E for approximately 40m to TL 3794 2263 then continuing NE for approximately 150m to a junction with the A10 at TL 3807 2270. Recommences on E of roundabout at TL 3813 2263 thence E to Cambridge Road. Width
Limitations None between TL 3790 2263 and TL 3807 2270
082 BR HCC 33
Commences from junction with county road C37 at the water works thence SW along parish boundary to junction with FP86 at TL 4136 2067 continuing SW along parish boundary to junction with BR19 (Standon) and BR5 (Much Hadham). Width Limitations
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083 FP HCC 32 Commences at junction with A10 Puckeridge Bypass opposite Old Hall Green Lane at TL 3786 2229 thence SE for approx 20m to old Cambridge Road at TL 3788 2228. Width
Limitations 085 FP HCC 32 HCC 33
Commences from a junction with FP24 at TL 3994 2157 thence generally E for approx 600m to a junction with FP23 at TL 4050 2159.Width 2m Limitations none
086 FP HCC 33
Commences from a junction with FPs 22 and 23 at TL 4091 2113 thence generally SE for approx 680m to a junction with BR82 at TL 4136 2067.Width 2m Limitations none
087 FP HCC 32 HCC 33 HCC 47 Commences from a junction with BR19 at TL 3953 2116 thence generally SE along the line of an old railway for approx 900m to cross FP48 at TL 4002 2042 continuing generally SE for approx 1300m to a junction with BR 9 Much Hadham at parish boundary at TL 4100 1976.Width 2m Limitations none
088 BR HCC 32 HCC 46 Commences on the east side of the A10 at a junction with Gore Lane at TL 3720 1977 then generally north east for approximately 370 metres to a junction with Standon Footpath 42 at TL 3733 2011. Continuing generally north east for approximately 365 metres to a junction with Standon Footpath
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92 at TL 3743 2045 then generally north east for approximately 35 metres to a junction with Standon Bridleway 41 at TL 3743 2048. Width Variable width of between 5 and 7 metres between TL 3720 1977 and TL 3731 2005 as shown shaded grey on the plan attached to the Hertfordshire County Council (Standon 41, 42, 88 and 89) Legal Event Modification Order 2009. 5.5 metres between TL 3731 2005 and TL 3733 2011 4.5 metres between TL 3733 2011 and TL 3738 2026. Variable width of between 5 and 8.5 metres between TL 3738 2026 and TL 3743 2045 as shown shaded grey on the plan attached to the Hertfordshire County Council (Standon 41, 42, 88 and 89) Legal Event Modification Order 2009.4.5 metres between TL 3743 2045 and TL 3743 2048. Limitations None
089 BR HCC 32 HCC 46 Commences at a junction with Gore Lane at TL 3713 1977 then generally north east along the western side of the A10 for approximately 465 metres to TL 3730 2020. Continuing generally north west for approximately 325 metres to a junction with Standon BR41 at TL 3719 2049. Width Limitations None
092 FP HCC 32
Commences at a junction with Standon Bridleway 88 at TL 3743 2045 then generally west, under the A10, for approximately 70 metres to TL 3735 2047. Width 3.3 metres through the underpass Limitations None
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