PROPOSED SOLAR FARM AT HOSCAR MOSS,,

HERITAGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT

GGARRY MMILLER Historic building consultancy

Proposed SOLAR FARM AT HOSCAR MOSS: heritage impact assessment Page 2

PROPOSED solar farm at Hoscar moss, Lathom

Heritage IMPACT assessment, October 2014

GARRY MILLER Historic Building Consultancy

Crosby House, 412 Prescot Road, Eccleston Hill, St Helens, WA10 3BT Telephone: 01744 739675, 07803 100995 [email protected] © Garry Miller 2014

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Contents

1: Executive Summary 4

2: Proposed Development/Location 5

3: Heritage Impact – Summary of Applicant’s Conclusions 7

4: Purpose of this Report 10

5: Historic Landscape Context 12

6: Tawd Bridge 15

7: Stocks Farm 17

8: Tyrer’s Farm and Barn 19

9: The Railway Level Crossing Gatehouse 22

10: The Barn at Fairhurst Hall 24

11: The Undesignated Buildings 26

12: Assessment of Impact 29

Appendix 1: Principal Reference Material 35 Appendix 2: Garry Miller Historic Building Consultancy 35

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1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report examines the impact upon the historic environment of proposals to erect a solar farm on a 38.75ha site east of Wanes Blades Road at Hoscar Moss, Lathom, in the borough of . The proposal involves installation of solar panels to generate approximately 16MW electricity and associated works involving switch room, substation, inverter housings, security fencing and CCTV cameras.

The site is currently in agricultural use and forms part of the setting of 15 listed buildings that lie within a kilometre of the site. The applicant’s cultural heritage statement concludes that ‘no impacts of major significance have been identified for any listed buildings in the vicinity of the application site’, owing to the limited scale of the proposed development which involves ground-mounted solar panels no taller than 3m in height above ground level. This report has been commissioned by Stop Hoscar Solar Farm Residents’ Group, who are objecting to the proposal, to review its potential impact.

The site lies amid a historic landscape little altered in the space of almost two centuries and is essentially flat countryside crossed by the rivers Tawd and Douglas, beyond which the ground rises eastwards to Harrock Hill and Hill, some 3km distant. Its landscape character is one of small irregular fields, crossed by a network of winding lanes and footpaths and punctuated by scattered farmsteads. Many of these are of 17th and 18th century date and are nationally-listed for their special architectural or historic interest. The only notable intrusions into this landscape, apart from the Wigan- Southport railway of the 1850s, are a large sewage works immediately east of the application site and an overhead electricity line and pylons which cross the site’s western portion.

The surrounding landscape is an important element of the significance (heritage value) of the listed buildings that lie adjoin it. While it is considered that the settings of the majority of these heritage assets will be unharmed, the proposed development will adversely affect that of the five Grade II buildings closest to it: the Tawd Bridge (115m W); Stocks Farm, 220m SW: the railway crossing gatehouse on Deans Lane (160m S); Tyrer’s Farmhouse, (160m W) and its separately-listed barn (180m W). The significance of all these buildings is presently enhanced by their ancient, unaltered setting. Furthermore, it will harm the setting of a further listed building, the Grade II* barn at Fairhurst Hall, Parbold, (1000m E) as the application site forms part of the backdrop against which the building can be viewed. In addition, the setting of three undesignated heritage assets, Tawdside Farm, a further railway crossing gatehouse at Frog Lane, and Greystone Farm, Bispham, will also be harmed.

It is considered therefore that the proposal is not in accordance with relevant local planning policy in that it will adversely affect the historic setting that makes an important contribution to the significance of these heritage assets.

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2: PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT/LOCATION

2.1 The proposal

Green Switch Solutions have applied (2014/0791/FUL) to West Lancashire Borough Council for planning consent for construction of a solar farm at Hoscar Moss, Lathom, to include the installation of solar panels to generate approximately 16MW electricity along with switch room, substation, inverter housings, security fencing, CCTV cameras and other associated works. The characteristics of the project are described in the applicant’s planning statement as follows:

• Commercially scaled low carbon electricity generation development. • 15.9 MWp potential capacity, including approximately 59,994 modules. • Powers approximately 4800 average sized homes per year. • A reduction of approximately 8000 tonnes of carbon per year. • Modules will be arranged in rows, mounted on frames at an approximate 25 degree module tilt. • The total height would be approximately 2.5m. • Security fence around the site boundary. • Standing inverters. • Low voltage cabinets and sub-cabinets and transformer. • Solar irradiance to be used for renewable energy technology. • Minimal noise, waste and pollution. • South facing aspect to optimise the capture of sunlight.

2.2 Location

The application site lies immediately east of Wanes Blades Road and is presently in agricultural use. The area is 38.75 ha. The northwest boundary is defined by the , and the northeast by the River Douglas. A sewage works, of similar size to the development site, adjoins to the east and southeast, and the southwestern side is bounded by buildings of Tawdside Farm and thereafter Deans Lane. The site forms part of the extensive flat landscape which characterises the southwest Lancashire coastal plain, while beyond the Douglas the ground rises steadily to Harrock Hill, around 2.75km northwest. The site lies at the transition between these two distinctive landscape types.

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Map 1. Site location plan (Google Earth, as reproduced in the applicant’s planning statement)

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3: HERITAGE IMPACT: Summary of applicant’s conclusions

3.1 Introduction

The heritage issue involved in this application is the proposal’s impact on the setting of adjoining heritage assets. Paragraph 129 of the National Planning Policy Framework states local planning authorities should identify and assess the particular significance of a heritage asset, including its setting, and take this into account when considering the impact of a proposal in order to avoid or minimize conflict between the asset’s conservation and any aspect of the proposal. The National Planning Policy Framework Glossary defines setting as:

The surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced. Its extent is not fixed and may change as the asset and its surroundings evolve. Elements of a setting may make a positive or negative contribution to the significance of an asset, may affect the ability to appreciate that significance or may be neutral.

3.2 Applicant’s assessment

The proposal’s impact upon the historic environment is examined in the Cultural Heritage Statement produced by Green Switch Solutions (July 2014). This was supported by an Archaeological and Cultural Heritage Assessment produced on their behalf by Wardell Armstrong (July 2014). The Cultural Heritage Statement primarily considered the proposal’s impact upon listed buildings, conservation areas, and entries in the Lancashire Historic Environment Record, following a methodology described in Part 3 of the report. The conclusions are summarised below.

3.3 Listed buildings

The report identified 15 listed buildings standing within 1km of the application site. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, which signifies a building of particular importance nationally and of more than special architectural or historic interest: this is the barn 30m S of Fairhurst Hall, Parbold, 1000m E of the application site. The remainder are

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designated Grade II, indicating a building of high importance in the national context for its special architectural or historic interest. These are:

Tyrers Farmhouse, 160m W of the application site Barn approximately 20 m W of Tyrers Farmhouse, 180m W Snape Cottage, 780m S Canal Aqueduct, 530m S Tawd Bridge, 115m W Stocks Farm, 220m SW Canal Aqueduct, 870m S Bispham Hall, 900m N Giants Hall, 830m S White Cottages, 980m S Kathry, 830m S Gatehouse at Railway Level Crossing, 750m SE Gatehouse at Railway Level Crossing, 160m S Fairhurst Hall, 1000m E

The Cultural Heritage Statement concluded that only five of these listed buildings were affected, and the extent of this impact was impact minor. It stated (part 6.1):

No impacts of major significance have been identified for any listed buildings in the vicinity of the application site. This assessment has shown that overall, due to the limited scale of the proposed development which involves the installation of ground mounted solar panels no taller than 3m in height above ground level; the proposal will have only a minor effect on the identified listed buildings.

Those five heritage assets, which most closely adjoin the site, are:

• Tawd Bridge: impact was considered to be minor/moderate. • Stocks Farmhouse: impact minor • Tyrers Farmhouse and its separately-listed barn: impact minor • Gatehouse at Railway Level Crossing 160m S: impact negligible.

The report added that in the case of the Grade II* barn at Fairhurst Hall, ‘… the site is well screened by mature trees and as such the application site is imperceptible from this heritage asset’.

3.4 Conservation Areas

The nearest Conservation Area to the application site is the Newburgh Conservation Area, approximately 1.07km to the south. It was considered that due to intervening screening and built form, the site would be imperceptible from the conservation area. Thus its impact would be negligible.

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3.5 HER entries

The Cultural Heritage Assessment concluded that the proposal will have no significant effects on the nearby HER listings; the closest HER entries were the listed buildings reviewed above.

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4: PURPOSE of this report

4.1 Background

Garry Miller Historic Building Consultancy has been appointed by Stop Hoscar Solar Farm Residents’ Group, who are objecting to the proposed development, to review its potential impact upon the heritage assets within its setting. The author, Garry Miller, is an architectural historian of 40 years’ experience who operates his own historic building consultancy specializing in heritage assessments relating to planning applications affecting the historic environment and is author of the major reference work Historic Houses in Lancashire: The Douglas Valley, 1300-1770 (2002). A full biography appears in Appendix 2.

4.2 Rationale

It is accepted that the settings of the majority of the heritage assets will not experience unacceptable impact from the proposal, for the reasons given in the applicant’s Cultural Heritage Statement.

However in the case of the five identified listed buildings which most closely adjoin the development site it was considered such close proximity was likely to present a greater risk of harm to their settings and therefore required further investigation. To recap, these are:

Tawd Bridge Stocks Farm Tyrer’s Farm and Barn Gatehouse at Railway Level Crossing 160m S

In addition it was considered, given the particular importance of the Grade II* barn at Fairhurst Hall, that this building should also be examined. Furthermore, a walkthrough of the area revealed several undesignated buildings which lie within the setting of the development, not covered by the HER entries. Although unlisted these, represent buildings of local interest and in addition to their own intrinsic qualities contribute at a wider level to the character of the landscape. These are:

The buildings at Tawdside Farm, directly south of the application site Railway Level Crossing Gatehouse at Frog Lane, approximately 500m SE Greystone House, Bispham, approximately 800m NE

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4.3 Methodology

This report therefore sets out to examine the proposal’s impact upon the above- mentioned heritage assets. It is structured as follows;

a. Landscape character analysis (Section 5). The application site, and adjoining heritage assets, lie within an area designated by West Lancashire Borough Council as being of Local Landscape History Importance. The historic character of this site is therefore briefly analysed, drawing information chiefly from WLBC’s Supplementary Planning Guidance and historic mapping.

b. Individual analysis of the five designated and three undesignated heritage assets, their setting and their significance (Sections 6-11). Paragraph 129 of the National Planning Policy Framework states local planning authorities should identify and assess the particular significance of any heritage asset that may be affected by a proposal (including development affecting its setting) and take this assessment into account when considering the impact of a proposal, to avoid or minimise conflict between the heritage asset’s conservation and any aspect of the proposal. This report therefore sets out to identify the significance of the five designated heritage assets closest to the site and the contribution made by their setting to this significance. It was based principally upon an external examination of the buildings and assessment of their setting relative to the application site.

c. Analysis of impact. The report concludes with an analysis of the proposal’s impact upon the significance of the affected heritage assets (Section 12), reviewed in the context of relevant national and local planning policies and guidance.

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5: historic landscape context

5.1 Designation

The application site lies within the Douglas Valley Mosses Area designated by West Lancashire Borough Council as being an Area of Local Landscape History Importance. Its is characterised as a low-lying and flat landscape with fields of varying sizes, few trees and virtually no woodland; uncultivated meadows in this area are part of a common grazing system, which may be of medieval origin. There are no settlements and farmsteads are mainly in the south of the area. Development controls exist to protect this and other designated areas of natural or landscape history importance in the borough, for which Supplementary Planning Guidance was issued by WLBC in 1996 and updated in 2007 (see Section 12.2).

1. The application site, looking southeast from Wanes Blades Road, with distant views of the spires of Christ Church and Our Lady’s RC Church at Parbold beyond

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5.2 Historic character

The site lies amid a historic countryside little altered in the space of almost two centuries and is characterised by scattered farms within a flat landscape crossed by the rivers Tawd and Douglas. Beyond the latter, the ground rises gently northeastwards to Parbold Hill and Harrock Hill some 2.75km - 3km distant (Plate 2). The only notable intrusions into this landscape, apart from the 1850s Wigan-Southport railway, are a large sewage works immediately east of the application site and an overhead electricity line and pylons, which cross the western portion of the site. A distinctive line of poplar trees, forming a field boundary within the application site, is a prominent landmark in distant views. The pattern of this ancient landscape is well-illustrated by the mid-1840s Ordnance Survey mapping (Map 2, below) which reveals how little the area surrounding the site has changed in the interim. Several farmsteads of 17th or 18th century date (such as Stocks Farm of the early 18th century, Tyrers Farm of the late 18th century, the undesignated Greystone Farm of 1698 and a barn at Tawdside Farm with a relocated datestone of 1664) reveal its long history of colonisation. In particular, Stocks Farm and Tawdside Farms, along with now-vanished buildings to the west and north shown by the OS mapping (the latter within what is now the application site) formed a distinctive nucleus around the Tawd Bridge, a settlement type of some rarity within a landscape of isolated and widely-dispersed farms.

Map 2. The six-inch OS mapping of 1845-46 shows a landscape still clearly identifiable today, with the centre of the application site indicated (compare Map 1)

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Map 3. Enlargement of the 1845-46 six-inch OS mapping, showing the distinctive group of farms, focussed around Tawd Bridge, which comprised Stocks and Tawdside Farms and two now-vanished buildings to the west and north

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6: TAWD BRIDGE

2. View north from Tawd Bridge showing field which forms western part of the application site, left of modern Tawdside Farm buildings

Map 4. Location of Tawd Bridge (indicated) relative to the site

6.1 National Heritage List Description

Public road bridge over River Tawd. Probably late C18. Sandstone ashlar. Stilted segmental arch with plain voussoirs, plain band, and parapet of massive blocks with rounded coping. Forms group with Stocks Farmhouse approx. 100m south west (q.v.).

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6.2 Setting

The bridge forms a historic group with the Grade II listed early 18th century Stocks Farm, a barn of probably similar date at the latter, and the undesignated Tawdside Farm. The landscape surrounding the site, with the exception of the sewage works, is largely unchanged since compilation of the 1845-46 OS mapping, and from the bridge itself a good view can be obtained of the river flowing north through the flat fields beyond (Plate 2).

6.3 Significance

Grade II designation denotes Tawd Bridge is considered of high importance in the national context for its special architectural and historic interest. It is a good example of a late 18th century stone road bridge, which historic mapping has shown was historically the focus of a hamlet comprising several farms, of which Stocks and Tawdside are now the survivors. Its setting within a relatively unaltered flat landscape, within which it shares group value with these farms, thus makes an important positive contribution to the significance of Tawd Bridge.

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7: STOCKS FARM

3. View northeast from Stocks Farm (barn on right of image) towards the application site

Map 5. Location of Stocks Farm relative to the site

7.1 National Heritage List Description

Farmhouse. Early C18, altered. Pebble-dashed render on brick, rendered plinth, composition tile roof. Transitional double-depth 2-unit plan with central porch and added rear wing. Two storeys, 1:1:1 windows, almost symmetrical; with cement quoins; a full-height 2-storey gabled porch in the centre with scored render to the front, a wide square-headed doorway with a board door, and a C20 two-light casement window above; and two 3-light casements on each floor. Gable chimneys, that to the right extruded. Rear: lower eaves. Interior not inspected.

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7.2 Setting

Not mentioned in the list description is a stone barn adjoining the house, also perhaps 18th century (a datestone is present, but illegible from the roadside), and which has a late 19th century extension. The buildings thus form a good agricultural group, illustrating the staggered development of the site. As noted above, Stocks Farm forms a historic nucleus with Tawd Bridge and the original buildings of Tawdside Farm, survivors of the larger nucleus mapped in the mid-1840s. Despite the intrusion of modern buildings at Tawdside, the historic setting of Stocks Farm remains clearly evident, and is particularly evident in the eastward view obtained from around 150 metres west on Deans Lane (Plate 4). Here, Stocks Farm figures prominently within the surrounding flat landscape, with Harrock Hill closing the view to the northeast.

4. Distant view of Stocks farm (far right) from Deans Lane with application site indicated

7.3 Significance

The Grade II designation of Stocks Farm confirms the building is of high importance nationally for its special architectural and historic interest as an example of an early 18th century farmhouse whose almost-symmetrical façade illustrates the transition from sub- medieval to an emerging classical style. This significance is enhanced by the group value the building shares with its possibly 18th century barn, and the listed adjoining Tawd Bridge and the undesignated Tawdside Farm; and by its wider landscape setting, which is well-illustrated by the distant view from Deans Lane (Plate 4).

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8: TYRER’S FARM and barn

5. View north along Wanes Blades Road, from Deans Lane junction, showing western portion of application site (indicated by red arrow) with the buildings of Tyrer’s Farm indicated by blue arrow

Map 6. Location of Tyrer’s Farm relative to the site

8.1 National Heritage List Description

Farmhouse. Probably later C18, slightly altered. Red brick in English garden wall bond (5+1), with some sandstone dressings, stone slate roof. Rectangular plan formed by single-depth 2-unit front range with rear wing to left half and outshut in rear angle under catslide roof. Two low storeys, 2 windows, symmetrical; gabled single-storey porch in the centre with a round-

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headed outer arch and a panelled inner door; two 3-lightcasement windows on each floor, all with raised sills and flat-arched heads. Gable chimneys. The left return wall has a lean-to addition overlapping the rear wing, with a doorway in its rear end, and this side of the rear wing has one 3-light window on each floor, that at ground floor being a sliding sash and the other a casement. Forms group with barn approx. 20m west (q.v.).

The description of the barn reads:

Barn. Dated 1822 in east gable; altered. Red brick in English garden wall bond (4+1), stone slate roof. Three unequal bays; large semi-elliptical headed waggon doorway offset left of centre and protected by shallow porch with splayed cheeks and carried-down roof; one square window at 1st floor to the left, and one similar window on each floor to the right. Weather vane close to right-hand gable. This gable wall has 3 doorways with stone surrounds, that at the left corner larger than the others, 2 circular pitching holes, and above these a pattern of raised headers forming the date "1822". Forms a group with Tyrer's Farmhouse.

6. Tyrer’s Farmhouse, looking east along Wood Lane

8.2 Setting

Tyrer’s Farm lies west of the site along Wood Lane, and forms a group with an unlisted possibly late 18th-early 19th century barn at its junction with Wanes Blades Road. Here, the buildings can be viewed amid the flat, undisturbed landscape that forms their setting, with Harrock Hill rising in the distance (Plate 5). The application site figures in these views, lying immediately east of Wanes Blades Road. From the farmhouse, views of the site are screened by trees to the east, but in winter glimpses are likely.

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8.3 Significance

As Grade II buildings, Tyrer’s Farm and its barn are of high importance in national context for their special architectural and historic interest, being a modest late 18th century farmhouse accompanied by a barn dated 1822 (which in fact is one of several dated barns of this period in the area). The significance of the buildings is heightened by their group value, and there is a further collective association with the undesignated barn to the east. The surrounding landscape has altered little in the space of almost two centuries, and thus enhances the significance of Tyrer's Farm as one of the scattered farmsteads which typify its settlement pattern.

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9: THE RAILWAY Level CROSSING GATE HOUSE

7. View north from the crossing: application site would be glimpsed in distance (indicated)

Map 7. Location of the gatehouse relative to the site

9.1 National Heritage List Description

Railway level-crossing keeper's cottage, now private dwelling.c.1860. For the Manchester and Southport Railway Company. Snecked sandstone rubble, slate roof, stone and brick chimneys. L-plan formed by 2-unit main range parallel to road with service wing set-back at right-hand end. Elizabethan style, with steeply-pitched roof and mullioned windows. Two storeys and 2 windows, symmetrical, with rusticated rock-faced quoins; a gabled single-storey porch in the centre with a Tudor-arched doorway and hollow spandrels, coped gable and a double-chamfered single-light window in each side; tall cross-windows with hoodmoulds at ground floor, and mullioned 2-light windows at 1st floor with

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gablets over them. Chimney at right-hand gable. The left gable wall (to the track) has a mullion-and-transom canted bay window at ground floor and a cross-window above. At the right-hand end the set-back single-storey wing has a Tudor-arched doorway (now protected by a C20 glazed porch). One of set of similar buildings on this section of the railway line.

9.2 Setting

The gatehouse is seen in the context of the surrounding flat agricultural landscape through which the railway cuts an unswerving, absolutely-straight northwest-southeast path. Along with its nearby unlisted counterpart (see Section 12.3) the gatehouse is a prominent feature in this landscape and its Victorian Gothic styling sets it apart from the vernacular buildings which typify the area.

9.3 Significance

As a Grade II building, the gatehouse is highly-important in the national context for its special architectural and historic interest, as an example of a small railway crossing keeper’s house. Its distinctive style, one typically associated with mid-19th century railway architecture, sets it apart from the surrounding vernacular buildings. Its setting makes an important contribution to the building’s significance as it illustrates the pioneering swathe cut by the railway though the surrounding ancient landscape.

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10: THE BARN AT FAIRHURST HALL

8. The barn at Fairhurst Hall, with application site above it on the horizon (indicated)

Map 8. Location of the barn relative to the site

10.1 National Heritage List Description

Barn. Early C18. Sandstone rubble with stone slate roof. South wall has cart entrance with segmental arch and hood. To the left is a window with plain reveals, with two similar windows under the eaves. To the right are external stone steps to a 1st floor doorway. A C20 timber platform projects at door sill level. Gables coped. The east gable has a doorway with segmental head and a

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segmental hood with scrolled ends and central finial. To each side are keyed circular windows. Above is a similar window, while a 4th window lights a rear outshut which appears to be original. The owl hole is circular. Fairhurst Hall (q.v.) is in C.P.

10.2 Setting

Although Fairhurst Hall itself is screened by trees from public realm views, the barn is a prominent feature, especially from a track leading west from Chorley Road and descending the hillside. Here the barn is viewed against the coastal plain beyond and the application site is particularly prominent on the horizon, as Plate 8 demonstrates.

10.3 Significance

Grade II* designation confirms the barn at Fairhurst Hall is a heritage asset of particular importance nationally, and of more than special architectural and historic interest. It is a good example of a substantial stone-built early 18th century barn associated with a large house of rural gentry standing. The barn’s setting makes an important contribution to its significance as, although the hall itself is hidden from view, the barn can be seen from Chorley Road and the adjoining farm track, where the application site forms part of the coastal plain backdrop beyond.

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11: THE UNDESIGNATED BUILDINGS

11.1 Tawdside Farm

9. The large late 18th-early/mid 19th century barn at Tawdside Farm

Map 9. Location of Tawdside Farm relative to the site

a. Location. Immediately adjoining the southern portion of the application site. b. Description. A former farmstead comprising a house (altered, but perhaps 18th- early 19th century as a building in this location is shown by the 1845-46 OS map), a large late 18th-early/mid 19th century former barn (with re-set 1664 datestone) later 19th century outbuildings and numerous modern structures. Named Tawdside House on the 1845-46 map.

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c. Setting. The buildings form part of the historic group with Tawd Bridge and Stocks Farm, and overlook flat countryside to the west and north. d. Significance. The buildings are of local interest, mainly through their group value and historical connection with the listed Tawd Bridge and Stocks Farm; although the site is marred by modern buildings, their wider setting, apparent in views to the west and north, enhances their significance.

11.2 Greystone Farm

10. View southwest from Greystone Farm (barn on right of image) down towards the application site (indicated)

Map 10. Location of Greystone Farm relative to the site

a. Location. Approximately 800m NE of the application site, on Chorley Road, Bispham b. Description. An isolated farmstead comprising a house dated 1698 (1), of three- unit baffle-entry form, with later extension to rear and various outbuildings. Named Stannanough’s on the 1845-46 OS map. c. Setting. The buildings occupy an elevated site on the lower slopes of Harrock Hill, overlooking the coastal plain below, which forms a picturesque backdrop (Plate 10). d. Significance. A group of local importance for its architectural and historic interest as a late 17th century farmhouse and associated outbuildings. The significance of the

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group is enhanced by the views obtained from its hillside setting, which place it within its historic landscape context

(1) Surveyed for the author’s 2002 book, Historic Houses in Lancashire, the Douglas Valley, 1300-1770

11.3 Railway Level Crossing Gatehouse on Frog Lane

11. The Frog Lane railway crossing gatehouse, looking north

Map 11. Location of the gatehouse relative to the site

a. Location. Frog Lane, approximately 500m SE of the application site b. Description. A crossing keeper’s house similar to the listed example on Deans Lane, probably 1860s and in a modest Victorian Gothic style. c. Setting. As with the listed gatehouse, the building is a distinctive feature within the surrounding rural landscape crossed by the railway track. d. Significance. A building of local importance for its architectural and historic interest as a railway crossing house of distinctive appearance, as opposed to the vernacular houses which characterise the surrounding area. Its setting amid the surrounding flat agricultural landscape bisected by the railway makes an important positive contribution to its significance.

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12: ANALYSIS OF IMPACT

12.1 Introduction

The importance of setting to the significance of a heritage asset is recognized by both national and local planning policies. This section will first review these policies and thereafter evaluate the proposal’s impact upon the settings of each of the designated and undesignated heritage assets.

12.2 Impact upon setting - relevant policies

National policies are set out in Section 12 of the National Planning Policy Framework (Conserving and Enhancing the Historic Environment, March 2012). Paragraph 131 states that in determining applications, local planning authorities should take account of:

• The desirability of sustaining and enhancing the significance of heritage assets, and putting them to viable uses consistent with their conservation • The positive contribution that conservation of heritage assets can make to sustainable communities including their economic vitality, and • The desirability of new development making a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness

Paragraph 132 states that ‘great weight’ should be given to the conservation of a heritage asset, and the more important the asset, the greater that weight should be; that significance can be lost through development within its setting; and that as heritage assets are irreplaceable, any harm or loss should require clear and convincing justification. Substantial harm to or loss of a Grade II listed building should be exceptional; substantial harm to or loss of designated heritage assets of the highest significance, including Grade II* buildings, wholly exceptional. Paragraph 133 states that where a proposal will lead to substantial harm to, or total loss of, the significance of a designated heritage asset, consent should be refused unless it can be demonstrated that the substantial harm is necessary to achieve substantial public benefits that outweigh that harm or loss. Paragraph 134 states that where a development proposal will lead to less than substantial harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset, this harm should be weighed against the public benefits of the proposal, including securing its optimum viable use. Concerning undesignated heritage assets, paragraph 135 states: that in weighing applications that affect directly or indirectly non-designated

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heritage assets, a balanced judgment will be required having regard to the scale of any harm or loss and the significance of the heritage asset. In relation to setting, Paragraph 137 states that local planning authorities should look for opportunities for new development within the setting of heritage assets to better reveal their significance, and proposals that preserve those elements of the setting that make a positive contribution to or better reveal the significance of the asset should be treated favourably.

Guidance on setting is provided by English Heritage’s Historic Environment Planning Practice Guide (March 2010), which remains relevant in terms of applying the NPPF. Paragraph 116 states: ‘The setting of a heritage asset can enhance its significance whether or not it was designed to do so’ and paragraph 114 emphasises how the concept of setting encompasses more than the visual aspect:

The extent and importance of setting is often expressed by reference to visual considerations. Although views of or from an asset will play an important part, the way in which we experience an asset in its setting is also influenced by other environmental factors such as noise, dust and vibration; by spatial associations; and, by our understanding of the historic relationship between places. For example, buildings that are in close proximity but not visible from each other may have a historic or aesthetic connection that amplifies the experience of the significance of each. They would be considered to be within one another’s setting.

Furthermore, the importance of unaltered settings is emphasized in The Setting of Heritage Assets: English Heritage Guidance (2011), which states (2.4):

The setting of some heritage assets may have remained relatively unaltered over a long period and closely resemble the setting in which the asset was constructed or first used. The likelihood of this original setting surviving unchanged tends to decline with age and, where this is the case, it is likely to make an important contribution to the heritage asset’s significance.

Locally, development affecting the historic environment in West Lancashire is governed by Policy EN4 (Preserving and Enhancing West Lancashire’s Cultural and Heritage Assets) of the Local Plan 2012-2027, which was adopted on October 16, 2013 as the development plan for the borough. The portion considered relevant to the application states:

The historic environment has an aesthetic value and promotes local distinctiveness and helps define our sense of place. In order to protect and enhance historic assets, and their settings, whilst facilitating economic development through regeneration, leisure and tourism, the following principles will be applied:

a) There will be a presumption in favour of the conservation of designated heritage assets. Regard should be had for the following criteria: i. Development will not be permitted that will adversely affect a listed building, a scheduled monument, a conservation area, historic park or garden, or important archaeological remains;

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ii. Development affecting the historic environment should seek to preserve or enhance the heritage asset and any features of specific historic, archaeological, architectural or artistic interest;

iii. In all cases there will be an expectation that any new development will enhance the historic environment in the first instance, unless there are no identifiable opportunities available.

b. Substantial harm to, or loss of a listed building, park or garden will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances, when it can be demonstrated that:

i. The substantial harm to, or loss of significance of, the heritage asset is necessary in order to deliver substantial public benefits that outweigh that harm or loss, or the nature of the heritage asset prevents all reasonable uses of the site

ii. No viable use of the heritage asset itself can be found in the medium term that will enable its conservation

iii. Conservation through grant funding or some form of chartable or public ownership is not possible; and

iv. The harm to, or loss of the heritage asset, is outweighed by the benefits of bringing the site back into use

c. There will be a presumption if favour of the protection and enhancement of existing non-designated heritage assets which have a particular local importance or character which it is desirable to keep. Such historic buildings, groups of buildings, spaces or other historic resources will be identified through a Local List which will be adopted by the Council.

Development affecting historic landscapes is governed by Policy EN2 (Preserving and Enhancing West Lancashire’s Natural Environment) of the Local Plan. Part 6 (Landscape Character) states:

New development will be required to take advantage of its landscape setting and historic landscapes by having regard to the different landscape types across the Borough. Development likely to affect landscapes or their key features will only be permitted where it makes a positive contribution to them. The level of protection afforded will depend on the quality, importance and uniqueness of the landscape in question as defined by the Natural Areas and Areas of Landscape History SPG and any subsequent documents.

The SPG referred to, originally issued in 1996 and updated in August 2007, encompasses the Douglas Valley Mosses of which Hoscar Moss is part. For this area, it states (Page 23) that any visual detractors are especially prominent due to flat and open landscape (apart from woodland blocks). The mechanism for minimising impact states

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(Page 20) that ‘particular care (is) needed with built development, especially in terms of siting and use of materials to minimise visual impact and the need to minimise the introduction of unnecessary or inappropriate landscaping; and (Page 23) ‘there should be ‘no proliferation of detractors’ and ‘screening or removal of existing detractors wherever possible’.

12.3 Impact upon Tawd Bridge

The applicant’s Cultural Heritage Statement summarises the proposal’s impact upon Tawd Bridge as follows:

The bridge is considered to be of low prominence in the landscape, and does not appear to have been designed to be viewed from a distance. Modern farm buildings now form a backdrop to the bridge, and as such the setting has experienced change since it was built. Partial views of the site will be available from this heritage asset, and this is likely to result in a moderate change in the character and/or appearance of historic structure (partial alteration to the setting of the historic structure). Considering the sensitivity of the asset, the overall significance of impact is considered to be minor/moderate.

While it is the case that the building is not especially prominent in the landscape, and its immediate setting to the northeast is harmed by modern buildings of Tawdside Farm, the extensive view north and west from the bridge still remains crucially important as it places the structure in the wider context of the historic landscape in which it lies and forms part (see Plate 2). The proposed development would intrude into this view immediately beyond the modern buildings, and thus would compound the negative visual impact they make. It is considered therefore that the proposal would have an adverse effect upon the setting of the Tawd Bridge, and the scale of this harm would be high.

12.4 Impact upon Stocks Farm

The applicant’s Cultural Heritage Statement concludes:

The farmhouse is considered to be of low sensitivity on the basis that it was not built to be a dominant feature of the landscape. The barn situated north east of the farmhouse significantly restricts views of the site from this listed heritage asset, and as such the anticipated magnitude of change to the setting of this structure is considered to be slight. The overall significance of impact is considered to be minor.

On the contrary, Stocks Farm is a prominent feature within the landscape, as Plate 4 demonstrates: and the proposed development would be apparent in this view, and would also be seen closer to the farm (Plate 3). Furthermore, the barn, rather than merely acting as a screen for the house, is a heritage asset in its own right, possessing its own intrinsic qualities in addition to group value; its setting would also be harmed.

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The proposal would therefore adversely impact upon the setting of Stocks Farm, and the scale of impact would be high.

12.5 Impact upon Tyrer’s Farm and Barn

The applicant’s Cultural Heritage Statement describes the proposal’s impact thus:

These are considered to be of low sensitivity as they are not a dominant feature on the landscapes and do not have wide ranging views across the landscape. The surroundings of the structure have experienced significant change since it was built with the addition of more modern farm buildings. Due to the presence of intervening farm buildings, together with screening around the perimeter of the site, inter-visibility is considered to be low, the magnitude of change is considered to be slight and as such the overall significance of impact is expected to be minor.

Tyrer’s Farm and its barn are modest structures that are typical of the scattered farms which characterise settlement patterns in the area. As such, they are viewed within a little-altered surrounding landscape. The application site stands immediately east of the group and will be clearly visible travelling north along Wanes Bridge Road towards the Wood Lane junction, where the barn figures prominently in the view from near Dean’s Lane (Plate 5). Although public views from the farmhouse itself are screened by trees, glimpses are likely during the winter. The proposal will therefore adversely affect the setting of the listed buildings, and the scale of its impact is considered to be high.

12.6 Impact upon the Railway Level Crossing Gatehouse

The proposal’s impact upon the gatehouse is summarised in the applicant’s Cultural Heritage Statement as follows:

This is considered to be of low significance on the basis of the English Heritage guidance referred to above. A site visit revealed that due to intervening tree and hedge screening and built form the site would be imperceptible from this heritage asset, and as such the magnitude of change is negligible and the significance of impact negligible.

Of all the affected heritage assets, this small building lies closest to the application site, although it is likely only glimpsed views will be obtained when looking north from the crossing. From passing trains however, the development’s presence will be more apparent, given the railway’s straight path, especially when approaching the crossing from the west (see Map 7). Its setting would be adversely affected, and the degree of impact is considered to be moderate.

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12.7 Impact upon the barn at Fairhurst Hall

The applicant’s Cultural Heritage Statement states:

Whilst situated on a higher land level on the slopes of Parbold Hill to east of the site, Grade II Listed Fairhurst Hall and adjacent II* Listed Barn to the east of the site is well screened by mature trees and as such the site is imperceptible from this heritage asset.

It has been demonstrated above (Plate 8) that the site is an important backdrop element in views of the barn. The proposed development will be apparent in these views and will impact adversely upon its setting. Given the separation distance, it is considered the scale of this impact will be moderate.

12.8 Impact upon the Undesignated Buildings

a. Tawdside Farm. The development will immediately surround the north and east sides of this group, and will consequently adversely affect its setting. The scale of this impact will be high. b. Greystone Farm. The application site features prominently in the view down the hillside from the entrance to the site (Plate 10). The setting of the buildings will thus be adversely affected and the scale of this impact will be moderate. c. Gatehouse at Frog Lane. The site is likely to be only glimpsed in north views from the gatehouse due to trees on Frog Lane immediately north of the building. However in wider views from the nearby station platform at Hoscar, and from passing trains, the site is likely to be more apparent, especially in winter. The visual impact of the proposed development will be moderate.

12.9 Conclusion

This assessment has shown that the application site lies within a historic agricultural landscape, characterised by low-lying countryside populated by scattered farms amid small fields, and which is recognized as being of local importance as part of the Douglas Valley Mosslands. The proposal seeks to introduce a development whose character is entirely alien to this landscape. It would occupy a large area and be visible at some distance, especially from the elevated ground to the northeast. Its proximity to the existing sewage works would create a substantial industrial zone within a landscape otherwise unchanged in at least two centuries. Hence the close proximity of such a development would entail visible harm to the setting of the five Grade II listed buildings which lie closest to the site. Also impaired would be the setting of the Grade II* listed barn at Fairhurst Hall, whose elevated location overlooks the site. Furthermore, the setting of three undesignated buildings, not listed but of local importance for their character and contribution to the historic landscape, would also be harmed. The degree of harm in all these cases is considered to be substantial. In summary therefore it is considered that the proposal is contrary to Local Plan policy EN4 due to its adverse effect upon the setting of these heritage assets.

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Appendix 1: principal reference material

1845-46 six-inch OS mapping Garry Miller, Historic Houses in Lancashire: the Douglas Valley, 1300-1770 (2002) Submission documents relating to application 2014/0791/FUL

Appendix 2: Garry Miller HISTORIC BUILDING CONSULTANCY

Garry Miller is an architectural historian who has spent more than 35 years studying buildings of town and countryside, in particular those of North West . His career as a consultant began in the mid-1980s with the Preston-based Nigel Morgan Historic Building Consultancy, of which he became a partner in 1992 upon its rebranding as Datestone. In 1997 he was commissioned by the Heritage Trust for the North West, a buildings preservation trust based at Barrowford, Lancashire, to produce an in-depth regional study of vernacular houses in southwest Lancashire: the result, Historic Houses in Lancashire: The Douglas Valley, 1300-1770 was published in 2002. Among the many positive reviews, it was described as ‘scholarship as its best’ by Country Life (June 2003), and ‘well analysed and presented’ in Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society (Vol 48, 2004). The work was extensively referenced in the 2006 Buildings of England volume on Liverpool and Southwest Lancashire. Extensive research on the houses of Georgian and Regency Liverpool has also been undertaken, with a view to future publication. Following the success of his Douglas Valley book, Garry Miller has established his own consultancy, producing analytical and interpretive reports on historic buildings. His specialism are the heritage assessments required to support planning applications affecting the historic environment, and his area of operation extends throughout the North West, Midlands and North Wales. A number of local authorities have cited his assessments as examples of best practice.

GARRY MILLER historic building consultancy