Farringdon Row MSCP Heritage Impact Assessment
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Farringdon Row MSCP Heritage Impact Assessment Sunderland City Council January 2021 © 2021 Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners Ltd, trading as Lichfields. All Rights Reserved. Registered in England, no. 2778116. 14 Regent’s Wharf, All Saints Street, London N1 9RL Formatted for double sided printing. Plans based upon Ordnance Survey mapping with the permission of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. © Crown Copyright reserved. Licence number AL50684A 61597/01/HE/Jfr 19153163v1 Farringdon Row MSCP : Heritage Impact Assessment Contents 1.0 Introduction 1 The Main Site 2 Methodology 2 2.0 Site and Surroundings 3 3.0 Historical Development 5 Sunderland’s West End 5 Medieval 5 18th Century 5 19th Century 6 20th Century 6 4.0 Legislative and policy context 9 Statutory legislation 9 Other Material Considerations 10 Key Considerations 10 5.0 Overview of Proposals 11 MSCP 11 Landscaping and Drainage 11 6.0 Assessment of impact on the significance of Heritage Assets 13 The Ship Isis 13 The Bishopwearmouth Conservation Area & Sunderland Minster 15 Wearmouth Bridge and Monkwearmouth Railway Bridge 17 7.0 Conclusion 19 Farringdon Row MSCP : Heritage Impact Assessment 1.0 Introduction 1.1 This Heritage Impact Assessment has been prepared by Lichfields to inform proposals for the construction of a multi-storey carpark (‘MSCP’) on land to the east of Farringdon Row and north of the A1231 Sunderland. 1.2 The application site, which is 2.36 hectares (ha) in total, comprises two connecting parcels of land as shown on Figure 1.1: 1 The main site for the proposed MSCP is 0.81ha in size and is bounded by Farringdon Row to the west, the A1231 to the south and the escapement / Galley’s Gill to the east. 2 The application site also includes part of Galley’s Gill / Riverside Park which travels in a north direction up to the River Wear. This area, which is 1.55ha in size, will include the sustainable drainage / water features which will provide the permanent drainage system for the site. 1.3 This Heritage Impact Assessment focuses primarily on the site of the proposed MSCP, given that the proposed drainage and landscaping schemes across the remainder of the site are considered to enhance the appearance of Riverside Park and will not have any adverse impact on above ground heritage assets. 1.4 The impact of the development on below ground heritage is considered separately in the Archaeological Desk Based Assessment prepared by Archaeological Services Durham University. Figure 1.1 Application Boundary – Outlined in Red Source: Ryder Architecture Pg 1 Farringdon Row MSCP : Heritage Impact Assessment The Main Site 1.5 The site of the proposed MSCP comprises 0.81ha of land, which was cleared of buildings between 2002 and 2008 following the demolition of a factory unit and the former Black Swan pub. Historically, the area around Farringdon Row was characterised by industrial and commercial uses, with a coal depot, railway sidings, a forge, scrap yard and rail workings all having been present. For much of the 19th century and early 20th century the site was occupied by terraced housing, public houses and a primitive Methodist church. 1.6 The application site is located to the north of Silksworth Row, approximately 35m north-west of the Grade II listed ‘Ship Isis’ pub. It is also approximately 150m north-west of the Bishopwearmouth Conservation Area and the Grade II* listed Church of St Michael (Sunderland Minster). Wearmouth Bridge and the Monkwearmouth Railway Bridge (both Grade II listed) are located approximately 650m to the east of the site. 1.7 This report explains the history and evolution of the west-end of Sunderland and the application site and assesses the significance of the above ground heritage assets which could be affected by the proposals and the potential impact of the proposals on their significance. Methodology 1.8 This report identifies the above-ground heritage assets that may be affected by the proposed development. In accordance with paragraph 189 of the National Planning Policy Framework (‘NPPF’), it establishes the significance of the assets, including an understanding of their setting and how this contributes to significance. 1.9 The NPPF defines significance as the ‘value’ of a heritage asset to this and future generations because of its ‘heritage interest’. The interest may be archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic. This broadly aligns with the heritage values outlined in Historic England’s Conservation Principles (2008), which are evidential, aesthetic, historical and communal value. 1.10 The NPPF confirms that significance derives not only from a heritage asset’s physical presence but also from its setting. The setting of a heritage asset is the surroundings in which it 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 contribution or negative contribution to the significance of an asset, may affect the ability to appreciate that significance, or may be neutral. 1.11 The approach to considering the effect of changes to setting upon significance has been carried out in accordance with Historic England’s ‘The Setting of Heritage Assets: Historic Environment’ Good Practice Advice in Planning Note 3 (Second Edition) (2017) and ‘Managing Significance in Decision-Taking in the Historic Environment’ Good Practice Advice in Planning Note 2 (2015). GPA3 discourages detailed analysis of very large numbers of heritage assets and supports an approach that considers the effects on the assets that are most sensitive to change (para. 23). 1.12 The assessment of significance and the potential effects of the proposed development have been undertaken after conducting a site visit. The visual role of the application site in the setting of the surrounding heritage assets has been investigated. The National Heritage List for England, Riverside Sunderland Supplementary Planning Document, Riverside Sunderland Heritage Impact Assessment, relevant mapping, photographs, plans and documents in the Historic Environmental Record have been used to identify heritage assets as part of this assessment. Below ground heritage has been considered as part of the Archaeological Desk Based Assessment prepared by Archaeological Services Durham University. Pg 2 Farringdon Row MSCP : Heritage Impact Assessment 2.0 Site and Surroundings 2.1 The site of the proposed MSCP is located on the south side of the River Wear, between the Queen Alexandra and Wearmouth bridges, to the north-west of Sunderland City Centre. The site is in an elevated position relative to Riverside Park and Galley’s Gill, which it overlooks to the east. The land on the site is held behind a substantial retaining wall along its eastern boundary. The site lies at approximately 34m AOD, to the east of Farringdon Row, on the north eastern side of the junction with Silksworth Row. The site slopes downwards slightly from west to east and is currently vacant, bounded by a metal palisade security fence. No traces of previous development are visible on site. 2.2 The northern boundary of the MSCP site is formed by vacant scrubland, with copses of trees and the River Wear beyond. The north-eastern boundary is formed by a stone retaining wall and cliff edge that drops down towards the Riverside Park, while the south-eastern boundary is formed by a steep embankment, which runs down towards Galley’s Gill Road. Galley’s Gill lies to the east and was the site of a former cemetery which was in use for much for the 19th century. The Archaeology Assessment has considered the below ground heritage assets in the area and has concluded that human remains, burial vaults and the remains of a mortuary chapel from the cemetery are likely to be present in Galley’s Gill. The vaults extend under the bank against the boundary wall of the area. The burials are to the immediate west of the vaults and are covered by up to 2m of modern material. 2.3 Beyond Galley’s Gill is the former Vaux Brewery site, which is subject to a hybrid planning application for a mixed-use development.1 Wearmouth Bridge and the Monkwearmouth Railway Bridge (both Grade II listed) are located to the north-east of the Vaux site. The city centre and Bishopwearmouth Conservation Area are located to the south-east of the site, with the tower of Sunderland Minster (Grade II*) visible on the skyline. The southern boundary is formed by Silksworth Row (A1231) with the Grade-II listed Ship Isis pub on the opposite side of the road and Sunderland University’s City Campus beyond. Farringdon Row forms the western boundary of the site, beyond which lies the Trimdon Street Retail Park. 1 Local Authority Planning Reference: 15/02557/HY4 Pg 3 Farringdon Row MSCP : Heritage Impact Assessment Figure 2.1 Proposal Site, looking south-east towards Sunderland Minster (Photographed July 2020) Pg 4 Farringdon Row MSCP : Heritage Impact Assessment 3.0 Historical Development Sunderland’s West End Medieval 3.1 The village of Bishopwearmouth was one of the three settlements that eventually coalesced to form Sunderland. The Bishopwearmouth Conservation Area encompasses the area of the original village in what is now the west end of Sunderland City Centre, 150 metres to the south- east of the site. Bishopwearmouth had Anglo Saxon origins, the earliest reference thought to be around 930AD. It was established on lands belonging to the Bishops of Durham. During the middle ages the settlement grew into an important thriving farming community and religious centre. The village was quite small and was dominated by the Church of St Michael, although the parish it served was extensive covering an area of some 20 square miles and included the small fishing port of Sunderland.