Alcester Site Capacity Approx
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ALC.06 Stratford-on-Avon District Council – Site Allocations Plan Heritage Impact Assessment SHLAA Reference ALC.06 Site Address North of Captain's Hill, Alcester Site Capacity Approx. 45 dwellings Site Description: ALC.06 is situated North Of Captains Hill, on the eastern site of the settlement. The largest proportion of the site is raised and serves as a viewpoint over Alcester. There is a public footpath diagonally across the site and a stone viewpoint sits centrally within the raised section. The southern part of the site is much lower, and sits on the same level as the road and other dwellings. The entire site is covered in grasses, and whilst left to grow, the area was not unkempt. There are trees and bushes that look to be young in age that have started growing in the lowest part of the site and up the ‘hill’ to the raised section of the site. There is access to the site via a gate onto Captains Hill road. 1 ALC.06 Assessment criteria: Heritage Asset 1: Name of Heritage Asset Beauchamp Court moated site affected by allocated site Type of heritage asset/Listed Scheduled Monument (SM) Grade Designated Heritage Asset Contributing elements to The monument includes a medieval moated site located at Beauchamp Court, on the west bank significance of the heritage of the River Arrow. Beauchamp's Court came to the Beauchamp family in 1266 and in 1340 Giles asset de Beauchamp obtained a licence to crenellate his manor and to surround it with a wall of stone and lime. In 1503, on the death of Richard Beauchamp, the manor passed by marriage to Robert, Lord Willoughby de Broke and subsequently to Fulke Greville. Leland, the antiquarian, noted in 1545 that Fulke Greville was building at Beauchamp with stone taken from Alcester priory. Beauchamp Court ceased to be the principal seat of the Grevilles after the first Lord Brooke had acquired Warwick Castle in 1604, and the last member of the family to occupy Beauchamp Court appears to have died in 1653. The house was empty in 1665 and by 1667 had been partly demolished, with the remainder in use as a farm house. The present building known as Beauchamp Court, a Listed Building Grade II, dates from the 18th century, and is located approximately 300m to the east of the moat. The SM lies approximately 1.3km North West of the site on the other side of the settlement. There are both residential and employment developments between the two areas. The developable part of the proposed site is located within a substantial land depression meaning inter-visibility between the sites does not exist. Assessment of impact of Due to the fact that the proposed site lies on the opposite side of the settlement to the SM and development on significance there is substantial development between the two the impact this site would have on the SM is of the asset minimal. Potential mitigation Ensuring development is in keeping with the local style and that development height is considered measures for identified harm to ensure visibility to the SM is not created thus causing harm. 2 ALC.06 Conclusion of harm on the The distance and existing development prevents any views between the Scheduled Monument heritage asset and the proposed site, therefore no harm to the heritage asset is predicted. Conclusion on harm to heritage asset: No Harm Heritage Asset 2: Name of Heritage Asset Alcester Abbey affected by allocated site Type of heritage asset/Listed Scheduled Monument (SM) Grade/Significance Value Designated Heritage Asset Contributing elements to The monument is situated in the north part of the town of Alcester and includes the earthwork and significance of the heritage buried remains of Alcester Abbey, its associated water management system and the earthwork asset remains of ridge and furrow cultivation. The Benedictine abbey of Alcester was founded between c.1138-40 by Ralph le Boteler. The financial fortunes of the abbey suffered through the negligence of later abbots, culminating in a formal alteration of its status to that of a cell of Evesham Abbey in 1465. The cell was dissolved in 1536. After the Dissolution, the site passed into the hands of Fulke Greville who used the site as a convenient source of stone for the remodelling of Beauchamp Court, situated to the north of the monastery. By the 18th century, Alcester Abbey had reverted to agricultural use. Alcester Abbey occupies a naturally elevated site on the south floodplain of the River Arrow and is bounded along its north and east sides by the river, and on its west and south sides by two shallow connecting channels which were described as waterfilled moat arms in the 18th century. Assessment of impact of The SM lies approximately 1.1km west of the proposed site, between which lies extensive development on significance residential development and the local primary school. Visibility between the developable part of of the asset the site and the SM is not apparent and as such any development would have no impact on the significance of the SM. Potential mitigation Ensuring development is in keeping with the local style and that development height is considered measures for identified harm to ensure visibility to the SM is not created thus causing harm. 3 ALC.06 Conclusion of harm on the The distance and existing development prevents any views between the Scheduled Monument heritage asset and the proposed site, therefore no harm to the heritage asset is predicted. Conclusion on harm to heritage asset: No Harm Heritage Asset 3: Name of Heritage Asset Alcester Roman Town affected by allocated site Type of heritage asset/Listed Scheduled Monument (SM) Grade/Significance Value Designated Heritage Asset Contributing elements to This monument, which falls into three areas, includes part of the Roman small town of Alcester significance of the heritage situated to the south of the current settlement which bears the same name on the banks of the asset Rivers Arrow and Alne at their confluence. The town survives as entirely buried structures, layers and deposits the presence of which has been confirmed by chance finds from 1660 onwards, limited excavation, geophysical survey and a study of aerial photographs. The town began as a small military outpost but functioned mainly as a manufacturing and marketing centre and served a large surrounding agricultural hinterland. The exact location of its principal buildings is not known, but residential and industrial areas have been noted to the south and the town defences from early 1st century simple earthen ramparts to later 4th century stone replacement walls with a bastion are known in the north for example. The town was apparently irregularly divided by a series of streets extending from two main Roman roads – Ryknild Street and the Salt Way. The buildings range from simple timber, wattle and daub structures to extensive stone buildings with tessellated floors and painted plaster and cover industrial, manufacturing, commercial and residential functions. Cemeteries have also been located. The town is known to have been extensive and part lies beneath the modern and medieval successors. The scheduling aims to protect those significant areas of the town which have not been subject to sustained successive redevelopment. The Roman town was operating from the 1st to 4th centuries and expanded continuously and remained prosperous until the late 4th century. From this point it declined universally but continued to function until the 5th century. 4 ALC.06 Assessment of impact of The SM lies approximately 0.9km south west of the proposed site between which lies extensive development on significance residential development as well as St Benedict’s High School. Visibility between the developable of the asset part of the site and the SM is not apparent and it is considered that development on the site would have no impact to the SM. Potential mitigation Ensuring development is in keeping with the local style and that development height is considered measures for identified harm to ensure visibility to the SM is not created thus causing harm. Conclusion of harm on the The distance and existing development prevents any views between the Scheduled Monument heritage asset and the proposed site, therefore no harm to the heritage asset is predicted. Conclusion on harm to heritage asset: No Harm Heritage Asset 4: Name of Heritage Asset Kinwarton House grounds affected by allocated site Type of heritage asset/Listed Non-designated Heritage Asset Grade/Significance Value No listed status Contributing elements to A park which dates to the Imperial period. It is attached to Kinwarton House and is marked on a significance of the heritage map of 1822. Kinwarton House grounds lie directly east of the proposed site and share a border. asset The site is surrounded by trees which shroud it from view. Assessment of impact of As a non-designated heritage asset that is self-contained behind trees and other well established development on significance foliage there is little view onto to the proposed site. The land has also been subdivided into of the asset separate gardens and not kept as a whole. It could be said that this subdivision of the parkland lessens the significance of the site, as it has already been ‘harmed’ by previous decisions. The ‘parkland’ is also now the location for a number of businesses, which again takes away from its previous use as the grounds of Kinwarton House. It would seem that previous development has already caused harm to the grounds, and adjacent development would not cause significant damage. However, as the land is adjacent, considerations should still be given. Potential mitigation In being situated next to the previous grounds of Kinwarton house, any development should be measures for identified harm considerate to the local style and the history.