8 Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
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Visual Impact Provision Peak District (East) Project, Environmental Assessment Report Volume 1 8 ARCHAEOLOGY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE Summary This chapter assesses the potential impact of the Proposed Project on archaeological and cultural heritage features of the area. The Proposed Project is located within a multi period archaeological landscape. The assessment has been informed by information on the history and development of the area gathered from a wide range of sources, including databases of known heritage assets, an archaeological watching brief undertaken during ground investigation works, a walk-over survey, historic mapping, published documentary sources, archive material and topographic data from a flown LiDAR survey. The assessment has concluded that there would be no significant adverse effects on the historic environment arising from the Proposed Project. Construction phase impacts on the setting of listed buildings near to the project would be temporary and would cease on completion of the works. Permanent visual change within the setting of listed buildings associated with the construction of the new Sealing End Compound at Wogden Foot would be minor and adverse but would be offset by the removal of overhead lines within the same view, resulting in net beneficial effects. Permanent direct impacts associated with temporary and permanent construction works would result in negligible effects upon the historic environment for which mitigation measures (watching brief, earthwork survey and condition survey) are specified. 8-1 Visual Impact Provision Peak District (East) Project, Environmental Assessment Report Volume 1 8.1 Introduction 8.1.1 This chapter of the Environmental Assessment Report assesses the potential impact of the proposed Visual Impact Provision (VIP) Peak District (East) Project (here on referred to as ‘the Proposed Project’) on archaeology and cultural heritage assets during the construction phase (including overhead line (OHL) removal), and operation and decommissioning phases. Measures for mitigation of significant impacts are specified where necessary. Details of the Proposed Project and accompanying figures are contained in Chapter 2 (Project Description) of the Environmental Assessment Report. 8.2 Scope and Methodology Study Area 8.2.1 Impacts upon archaeology and cultural heritage assets are considered within a Study Area (“the Study Area”) comprising a 500m buffer surrounding the Area of Search for Permanent and Temporary Works, which was established for data collection purposes to encompass the maximum extent of all temporary and permanent works associated with the Proposed Project. This Study Area has been used to identify known heritage assets, determine the likely potential for currently unknown heritage assets to be present, and to assess impacts of the Proposed Project upon them. 8.2.2 An Extended Study Area (“the Extended Study Area”) comprising a 5km buffer surrounding the Area of Search for Permanent and Temporary Works has been used for the assessment of visual impacts upon the setting of designated heritage assets arising from the Proposed Project, specifically those associated with the installation of new equipment at the proposed Sealing End Compound (SEC) at Wogden Foot, and the removal of the VIP Subsection of OHL. 8.2.3 The Site Boundary is the boundary of the Proposed Project comprising the Cable Corridor, VIP Subsection, SEC, Temporary Construction Compounds/Lay Down Areas, Temporary Access Tracks, Crane Pads and Overhead Working Platforms. There is the potential for direct physical impact upon heritage assets identified within the Site Boundary. 8.2.4 The Site Boundary, Area of Search for Permanent and Temporary Works, Study Area, Extended Study Area and locations of all known heritage assets considered in the assessment are indicated in Figures 8.1 and 8.2. Establishment of Existing Environment 8.2.5 The term ‘heritage asset’ denotes “a building, monument, site, place, area or landscape positively identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions, because of its heritage interest”.1 Heritage assets may be designated under national legislation or international agreements (e.g. world heritage sites, scheduled monuments, protected wreck sites, listed buildings, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields and conservation areas) or non-designated, recorded on regional historic environment records and other regional and national databases. 8.2.6 Cultural heritage more broadly includes all elements of the historic environment: these are, most tangibly, designated sites, areas and features and their settings, and both designated and non-designated below-ground and above-ground archaeological remains. It also includes intangible aspects which contribute to the 1 NPPF 2019 Glossary 8-2 Visual Impact Provision Peak District (East) Project, Environmental Assessment Report Volume 1 cultural significance of a place (aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value for past, present or future generations), including potentially the place itself, its fabric, setting, use, associations, meanings, records, related places and related objects. 8.2.7 Quantitative and qualitative baseline data, comprising records of designated and non-designated heritage assets alongside a summary of the history and development of the Study Areas, is presented in the Existing Environment (baseline) section below (Section 8.5). The archaeological and historical review enables judgements to be made regarding the archaeological potential of the Proposed Project. Data Sources/Gazetteer 8.2.8 A summary of known archaeological and cultural heritage assets is presented in a gazetteer using information from the data sources listed below (Appendix 8A). All assets within the gazetteer have been allocated a unique reference number prefixed ‘RSK’. The locations of the known heritage assets are indicated in Figure 8.1. 8.2.9 The sources listed in Table 8.1 were consulted to inform the Existing Environment section. Table 8.1: Baseline Data Sources Source Data National Heritage List Designated heritage assets, location and extent: for England (NHLE), • Listed Buildings maintained by Historic • Scheduled Monuments England • Registered Parks and Gardens • Historic Battlefields • Heritage at Risk NB: only those assets within the Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV) for the proposed SEC at Wogden Foot and removed infrastructure have been included in the gazetteer. Barnsley Metropolitan • Conservation Areas Borough Council National Record of the • Non-designated heritage assets, location and extent Historic Environment • Previous archaeological events (NRHE), maintained by Historic England South Yorkshire Sites • Non-designated heritage assets, location and extent and Monuments • ‘Grey literature’ resulting from previous Record (SMR), archaeological investigations and interventions maintained by the • Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) data South Yorkshire • Previous archaeological events Archaeology Service 8-3 Visual Impact Provision Peak District (East) Project, Environmental Assessment Report Volume 1 Source Data Peak District National • Non-designated heritage assets, location and extent Park Authority Historic • ‘Grey literature’ resulting from previous Buildings, Sites and archaeological investigations and interventions Monuments Record • Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) data (HBSMR) • Previous archaeological events Barnsley, Sheffield and • Background information, published and unpublished Manchester Archives sources • Historic maps and plans Online sources and • Background information, published and unpublished publications sources Historic Mapping • Historic Ordnance Survey and pre-Ordnance Survey maps LiDAR (light detection • Detailed topographical information on the Study and ranging) data (see Area, flown for the Proposed Project Appendix 8C) Walkover survey of Observations relating to archaeological potential and each land parcel visual impact: potentially affected by • Setting of designated heritage assets; the Proposed Project • Above-ground, negative earthwork, or structural within the Search Area features; for Permanent and • Soil discolouration, crop or parch marks indicative of Temporary Works subsurface features; • Surface finds; • Evidence of current and previous land use, boundaries, topography and aspect; • Exposed geology and soils; • Watercourses; and • Health and safety considerations for further assessment stages. British Geological • Geological data Survey (BGS) Watching brief during • Intrusive archaeological information geotechnical • Stratigraphic modelling of the Cable Corridor, investigations, specifically with regards to depth of colluvium, undertaken by Pre- presence of truncation or made ground, evidence for Construct Archaeology buried land surfaces or palaeoenvironmental Services Ltd and RSK material, where this may assist determining in 2016 and 2018 (see archaeological significance and development Appendix 8B) impact 8-4 Visual Impact Provision Peak District (East) Project, Environmental Assessment Report Volume 1 Source Data Ground investigation • Stratigraphic modelling of the Cable Corridor, borehole log data (see specifically with regards to depth of colluvium, Appendix 8B) presence of truncation or made ground, evidence for buried land surfaces or palaeoenvironmental material, where this may assist determining archaeological significance and development impact Walkover Survey 8.2.10 The Cable Corridor,