Built Heritage Review Liverpool John Lennon Airport
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Built Heritage Review Liverpool John Lennon Airport February 2019 Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. The Heritage Assets 2 3. The Master Plan Area 4 4. Summary Assessments of Significance 7 5. Summary of Relevant Legislation, National Planning Policy and Guidance 10 6. Key Heritage Considerations 12 Appendix 1: Historic Development of the Master Plan Area Appendix 2: Assessments of Significance Our reference LIVM2008 February 2019 1. Introduction 1.1 This Built Heritage Review is prepared by Turley Heritage in connection with the Liverpool John Lennon Airport Master Plan to 2050 (dated March 2018) (the ‘Master Plan’) for the expansion of the existing Liverpool John Lennon Airport on the surrounding area (the ‘Master Plan Area’). 1.2 The NPPF (2019) defines a heritage asset 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 1 interest” 1.3 For the purposes of this report, the term ‘Built Heritage’ refers to all above ground heritage assets. All below-ground heritage assets are discussed within the Archaeological Appraisal prepared by Aecom. 1.4 This Review undertakes a preliminary assessment of the likely and potential impacts on identified heritage assets. It informs the provisions of Policy EC7 of the Liverpool Local Plan Submission Draft (dated January 2018) in respect of built heritage considerations. 1.5 The Review is structured as follows: • Section 2 sets out the nearby heritage assets with potential to be affected by the Master Plan; • Section 3 provides an overview of the historic development of Liverpool John Lennon Airport and the surrounding area; • Section 4 provides a proportionate assessment of the significance of the heritage assets including the contribution made by their setting; and • Section 5 provides a summary of key heritage considerations, including an appraisal of draft Policy EC7 of the Liverpool Local Plan Submission Draft. 1.6 This Review has been informed by a site visit, initial archival research, a search of the Merseyside Historic Environment Record (HER), historic map regression, background knowledge of the area and site and relevant heritage legislation, planning policy and guidance. 1 MHCLG (2019) National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) Annex 2; Glossary 1 2. The Heritage Assets Designated Heritage Assets 2.1 Designated heritage assets are those which possess a level of heritage interest that justifies designation under relevant legislation and are then subject to particular procedures in planning decisions that involve them. Listed Buildings 2.2 The Master Plan Area includes the grade II listed Yew Tree Farmhouse which is located in the south eastern part of the Master Plan area. The building was included on the statutory list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest on 14 March 1975. 2.3 The following listed buildings are not located within but are proximate to the Master Plan Area: • Speke Hall (grade I listed), Bridges Over Moat to North and East (individually grade II listed), Outbuilding (grade II listed) and Farm Building (grade II listed); • All Saints Church, Lychgate, Village Hall, 30-34 Hale Road and Church of St Ambrose (all grade II listed); • Liverpool Speke Airport Complex comprising the former terminal and two hangars of the former Speke Northern Airfield (individually grade II* listed); and • Hale Village; consisting of a mix of grade II* and grade II listed buildings. 2.4 A proportionate assessment of the significance of these assets has been undertaken at Section 4 of this report. The various listed buildings within Hale Village have been considered as part of the assessment of the Hale Conservation Area. Scheduled Monuments 2.5 The moated site of Speke Hall was scheduled in 1991. The site includes an island predominantly occupied by Speke Hall surrounded by dry moat which survives to three sides. Conservation Areas 2.6 To the east of the Master Plan Area are two conservation areas, both located within Halton Borough Council. These are: • Hale Village Conservation Area which was designated in 1969 and is focussed on the collection of buildings along High Street and the Church of St Mary. It is located approximately 1.8km away from the boundary of the Master Plan Area. 2 • Hale Road Conservation Area which was designated in 1983 and is focussed on a collection of 20th century cottages and a tree plantation. It is located approximately 900 metres from the boundary of the Master Plan Area. 2.7 There is no adopted Conservation Character Area Appraisal, Management Plan or Designation Report for either conservation area. Summary 2.8 There is one listed building (Yew Tree Farmhouse) within the Master Plan Area. The Master Plan envisages that the farmhouse would be retained and reused as part of the expansion of LJLA. There is therefore the potential for direct and indirect effects on this asset. All the other effects arising from the Master Plan on built heritage will be indirect in nature having potential to affect the significance of the identified assets through change within their setting, rather than any direct effects. 3 3. The Master Plan Area Context 3.1 The ‘Master Plan Area’ (Figure 3.1) consists of the existing area of Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) and the proposed expansion area to its west, south and east. The area is located 11km to the south east of Liverpool City Centre and lies on the northern coast of the Mersey Estuary. The Airport is predominantly within the City of Liverpool but parts of it including some of the Master Plan Area are within the administrative area of Halton. Figure 3.1: Master Plan Area (2018)2 3.2 The Master Plan Area itself consists of the existing Airport, an open field to the east of Dungeon Lane and the area of Oglet which includes a number of buildings and open fields. To the north west of the Master Plan Area is Speke Hall and its associated grounds; to the north is the associated infrastructure for the Airport beyond which is the Speke Hall Industrial Estate; and to the north east are residential dwellings and open fields. To the south east, south and south west is Mersey Estuary. 3.3 The Eastern Access Transport Corridor (EATC) is proposed to the east of the Master Plan Area (outside the red line boundary), connecting the airport with the A562 (Figure 3.2). It involves the construction of a new road from Hale Road to the west, curving across open fields and north parallel to the existing Ramsbrook Lane. 3.4 The EATC is predominantly located within Halton Borough Council and is not directly relevant to the emerging Liverpool Local Plan. It has however been referenced to within this Review for completeness. 2 Liverpool John Lennon Airport (2018) Liverpool John Lennon Airport Master Plan to 2050 4 Figure 3.2: Eastern Access Transport Corridor (2018)3 Summary of Historic Development 3.5 Below is a summary of the historic development of the Master Plan Area. A more detailed overview can be found at Appendix 1 of this report. • The Master Plan Area historically formed part of the much wider Speke Estate, of which Speke Hall has 11th century origins. The site appears to have formed part of the demesne of Speke Hall to the west and agricultural land to the east. • In the late 19th century (c.1895), the Master Plan Area is shown as consisting of a mix of agricultural fields and tree plantations. In 1921, Adelaide Watt died and the family line ceased to exist. As a result, the Speke Estate was placed into a trust to manage and maintain the hall and grounds.4 • In 1928, the Liverpool Corporation purchased large parts of the Speke Estate (approximately 1,800 acres) to develop an industrial estate to attract new manufacturers to Liverpool to alleviate unemployment.5 In addition to this, a new airport was proposed together with a large housing development. • In 1936, the Liverpool Corporation envisaged the housing development within Speke as a ‘satellite town…planned to accommodate all classes of the community’.6 By 1937, the area surrounding Speke Hall slowly became more urbanised and the new airport buildings were nearly completed (after construction began in 1935). There were few changes to the Master Plan Area itself with the exception of amalgamation of some field boundaries. 3 Liverpool John Lennon Airport (2018) Liverpool John Lennon Airport Master Plan to 2050 4 Whatmore, Tom (1990) My Life at Speke Hall 5 Pollard & Pevsner (2006) The Buildings of England: Lancashire – Liverpool and the South West 6 The Times (17 September 1937) Housing Progress at Liverpool: Estate for all classes 5 • In the mid-20th century, the area surrounding the Master Plan Area continued to be developed with industrial and housing developments. In 1966, a 7,500ft runway known as the ‘Southern Airfield’ was constructed to the south and south east of Speke Hall. As part of this, ‘earth banks’ were planted to the periphery of Speke Hall to ‘minimise disturbance’.7 • In 1986, the original airport was relocated to the southern airfield to the south east of Speke Hall and a new terminal building was constructed. Further bunding / earth works are believed to have been introduced around Speke Hall to its east, south and west. • More recently, the remainder of the original Speke Airport has been redeveloped with large industrial warehouses (known as the Estuary Commerce Park and the Liverpool International Business Park) which now occupy land to the western side of Speke Hall. Liverpool John Lennon Airport, forming part of the Master Plan Area, has been subject to various extensions with various new facilities and associated car parking. There have been few other changes to the remainder of the southern part of the Master Plan Area with the exception of the demolition of a number of buildings in and around the settlement of Oglet.