Land at Manor Farm, Newton Regis, Warwickshire
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[project name] Headland Archaeology [project code/job] NEWT13 LAND AT MANOR FARM, NEWTON REGIS, WARWICKSHIRE Heritage Assessment for Fisher German 2nd February 2016 - 0 - Land at Manor Farm, Newton Regis, Warwickshire Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd NEWT13/001 LAND AT MANOR FARM, NEWTON REGIS, WARWICKSHIRE Heritage Assessment for Fisher German 2nd February 2016 HA Job no.: NEWT13/001 NGR: SK 27852 07322 North Warwickshire Borough Council: Council Project Manager: Joe Abrams Authors: Emma Jeffery & Jen Richards Approved by: Joe Abrams – Project Manager - i - Land at Manor Farm, Newton Regis, Warwickshire Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd NEWT13/001 CONTENTS 1....... INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Planning Background ............................................................................................. 2 1.2 Site Description ...................................................................................................... 2 2....... AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................ 3 3....... METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................ 3 3.1 Study areas............................................................................................................ 3 3.2 Data sources .......................................................................................................... 3 3.3 Identification of heritage assets ............................................................................. 4 3.4 Assessment of heritage significance and importance ............................................ 4 4....... RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 5 4.1 Overview of the historic environment ..................................................................... 5 4.2 Assessment of heritage significance ...................................................................... 7 5....... PREDICTED EFFECTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT ........................................................ 9 6....... CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................ 11 7....... REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 12 8....... APPENDIX 1: CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSETS WITHIN THE INNER STUDY AREA 13 9....... APPENDIX 2: ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................... 16 - ii - Land at Manor Farm, Newton Regis, Warwickshire Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd NEWT13/001 LAND AT MANOR FARM, NEWTON REGIS, WARWICKSHIRE HERITAGE ASSESSMENT This report presents the findings of a heritage assessment for the proposed residential development on land at Manor Farm, Newton Regis, Warwickshire, B79 0NA (centred at SK 27852 07322). This land is henceforth referred to as the Potential Development Area (PDA). The PDA lies within the historic core of the village at Newton Regis, which was a medieval (and potentially Saxon) settlement. Although there are no known archaeological assets in the PDA, excavations at the nearby Junior School have shown that archaeological deposits survive in the area. Much of the PDA remains open and undisturbed, and even those parts which have been built over consist of relatively free-standing barn structures which will not have significant foundations. There may be unknown sub-surface remains in the PDA, potentially relating to medieval activity (either settlement or agricultural), or post-medieval activity (possibly associated with the 18 th century Manor Farm). It is anticipated that further work may be required in relation to the potential buried archaeological resource. Our consultancy team, in liaison with the local planning authority archaeological advisor (AO), would discuss and determine (via the AO) the scope and timing of any such works. The PDA lies adjacent to a Conservation Area (Newton Regis). It is bordered by other farm buildings (notably Manor Farmhouse) to the north, shielding the view of the proposed development from Austrey Lane. Furthermore, the development will not be particularly dominating in the landscape. It will only be visible from parts of two listed buildings (Manor Farmhouse and Old Hall Farmhouse), and it is considered that the new residential development will be an aesthetic improvement on the 20 th century barns currently on the site. The development will not impact upon the evidential, historic, or communal value of the Conservation Area or Listed Buildings. The development will have no more than a negligible impact on the Conservation Area or any of the Listed Buildings in the vicinity. 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Planning Background Headland Archaeology was commissioned by Fisher German to undertake an assessment of the impact residential development of land at Manor Farm, Newton Regis, Warwickshire, B79 0NA (centred at SK 27852 07322; Illus 1) on Heritage Assets in order to inform the need for and scope of any further intrusive archaeological work or mitigation. This comprised both an assessment of any physical impacts upon buried archaeological remains and impacts upon setting. An application for 15 dwellings (PAP/2015/0153) was refused in November 2015 because it did not comply with the requirement of Policy NW6 of the North Warwickshire Core Strategy for 40% of the homes to be affordable. No heritage concerns were raised by the Conservation Officer or the Planning Archaeologist to the 2015 application. Fisher German are now proposing a scheme with 14 dwellings in an alternative layout to that submitted in 2015 and requested Headland Archaeology update the original assessment. This document is the updated assessment. 1.2 Site Description The proposed development site lies in the centre of the village of Newton Regis in North Warwickshire, 5km to the north-east of Tamworth and c.1km to the west of the M42. The PDA itself is positioned to the south of Austrey Lane, c.50m to the west of St Mary’s Church (centred on SK 27852 07322). It is bordered by open fields to the south and west; open fields and gardens / Farm buildings to the east; and Farm buildings to the north (leading onto Austrey Lane) (Illus 1). - 2 - Land at Manor Farm, Newton Regis, Warwickshire Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd NEWT13/001 Current land-use consists of Farm buildings, paddocks, and access tracks (Illus 19-24). There are three large barns in the north-central part of the site (forming a rectangle), with a paddock behind (to the south), a further three smaller barns to the south of this (in a T-shape), and two more in the western part of the site (forming a square). A track runs between these and around the site. The site is broadly flat, at approximately 77mOD, rising slightly to the north-east. 2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The assessment has been carried out according to the Standard and guidance for historic environment desk- based assessment published by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA 2014), and aims to: • Collate all available written, graphic, photographic and electronic information relevant to the development site; • Describe the nature, extent and significance of the historic environment within the area potentially affected by the development, identifying any uncertainties in existing knowledge; • Determine the potential impact of the proposed development; and • Identify any requirements for further investigation that may be necessary to understand the effects of the proposed development on the historic environment. 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Study areas Two areas have been used in assembling and presenting the data: • The Inner Study-Area: This takes in the Proposed Development Area (PDA). All available data sources have been consulted for this area. • The Outer Study Area: This extends 1km from the boundary of the PDA and has been used to gather background data to inform the assessment of the development area’s archaeological potential as well as to identify designated assets with potential for significant impacts to their setting. 3.2 Data sources The assessment has been based on a study of all readily available documentary sources, following the CIfA Standards and Guidance (CIfA 2014). The following sources of information were referred to: • Archaeological records held by Warwickshire Historic Environment Record (HER) • Historic maps and plans held in the Warwickshire Records Office. • Published sources available at the Warwickshire Records Office or online. • Historic Landscape Characterisation records held by Warwickshire Historic Environment Record. • The Victoria County History (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/) • MAGIC (Multi-Agency Geographical Information for the Countryside, www.magic.defra.gov.uk) and Heritage Gateway (www.heritagegateway.org.uk) A site visit was undertaken on Tuesday 10th December 2013 to examine the PDA and Heritage Assets (HA’s) within the inner study area. In addition HA’s within the surrounding outer study area were examined as appropriate. It afforded the opportunity to check the condition of known Heritage Assets (HAs) and to try and identify unknown HAs (e.g. earthworks). The site visit confirmed the current land-use and boundaries of the PDA and considered the contribution made by setting to the significance of designated assets within the study area. As no changes in the