Wilts & Berks Canal Trust Environmental Statement Melksham Link canal Appendix 10.1 APPENDIX 10.1 HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT WBCT/NPA/10653 NICHOLAS PEARSON ASSOCIATES Wilts & Berks Canal Trust Environmental Statement Melksham Link canal Appendix 10.1 WBCT/NPA/10653 NICHOLAS PEARSON ASSOCIATES Melksham Link - a proposed canal linking the River Avon at Melksham with the Kennet & Avon Canal at Semington NGR 389952, 163819 to 389941, 161027 Historic Environment Assessment _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Prepared by: Sarah Cottam On behalf of: Wilts & Berks Canal Trust Document No: ACW564/1/1 Date: October 2013 AC archaeology MELKSHAM LINK – A PROPOSED CANAL LINKING THE RIVER AVON AT MELKSHAM WITH THE KENNET & AVON CANAL AT SEMINGTON NGR 389952, 163819 to 389941, 161027 Historic Environment Assessment ________________ ___ CONTENTS Summary 1. Introduction 2 2. Legislation and Guidance 2 3. Assessment Methodology 4 4. Historical development of the site 6 5. Heritage assets 8 6. Air photographic evidence 12 7. Field Visit 14 8. Assessment of Significance 14 9. Conclusions 15 10. Sources 17 List of figures Fig. 1 Site location Fig. 2 Location of designated assets within study area (Melksham) Fig. 3 Location of non-designated assets within study area (Melksham) Fig. 4 Location of recorded assets within study area (north of Berryfield) Fig. 5 Location of recorded assets within study area (south of Berryfield) Fig. 6 Location of recorded assets within study area (Semington) Appendices App 1 Historic maps App 2 Summary of heritage assets App 3 Air photograph coversearch MELKSHAM LINK – A PROPOSED CANAL LINKING THE RIVER AVON AT MELKSHAM WITH THE KENNET AND AVON CANAL AT SEMINGTON NGR 389952, 163819 to 389941,161027 Historic Environment Assessment Summary A largely desk-based assessment of the historic environment issues associated with the proposed construction of a new section of canal linking the River Avon at Melksham to the Kennet & Avon Canal at Semington has been undertaken between July and September 2013. There are no designated heritage assets within the proposed construction corridors but a total of 90 are identified within a 500m wide study area. A number of non-designated assets lie on the route. These include a series of findspots of prehistoric and Romano-British date on the banks of the River Avon at Melksham, extensive areas of former medieval cultivation remains in the form of ridge and furrow and modern features including the line of the Devizes Branch Railway and extant and former Second World War structures. An assessment of the available data indicates two areas of particular archaeological potential. The first, to the north of Berryfield, lies close to a complex of cropmarks plotted from air photographs that may include the remains of prehistoric burial mounds and/or settlement activity; these are partly masked by later ridge and furrow. The full extent of these features is unknown but may extend into the proposed application area. The second area comprises the River Avon where significant early prehistoric, Bronze Age and Romano-British finds have been recorded. Melksham Link: Historic Environment Assessment Report no. ACD564/1/0 Page 1 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This report sets out the results of a largely desk-based assessment of the historic environment (archaeology and cultural heritage) issues relating to a proposed new section of canal to link the River Avon at Melksham to the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington, Wiltshire (NGR389952, 163819 to 389941,161027). The proposals include part of the River Avon to just upstream of the town weir. This assessment has been prepared by AC archaeology Ltd, on behalf of the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust during July to September 2013. The location of the proposed canal route is shown on Fig. 1. The aim of the report is to identify known heritage assets within the application area and, where possible at this level of assessment, identify the potential impacts on the historic environment. 1.2 The study has been prepared in support of a proposed planning application to Wiltshire Council for the excavation of a new waterway and associated infrastructure. The main components of the proposed development comprise: • The excavation and construction of a new broad canal with a navigable width of 9m through open countryside and 7m through bridge and Berryfield village; • The excavation and construction of three new locks, 23m long and 5m wide; • The excavation and construction of a narrow lock, 23m long and 5m wide, adjacent to the existing Melksham weir; • The construction of a new weir on the River Avon near Challymead bridge and limited dredging to provide navigable width of channel to the existing weir, and; • The construction of two new highway bridges and a number of pedestrian bridges. 1.3 The proposed waterway runs south through open countryside from the river Avon on the west side of Melksham, approximately parallel with the A350 for a short distance before turning south-east, skirting the edge of the village of Berryfield then heading south down to the Kennet & Avon canal at Semington. For much of the route the superficial geology comprises sand and gravel River Terrace deposits and, around Semington, there is a small area of Clay and Silt Head deposits. The underlying bedrock geology of the whole route is Jurassic Mudstone of the Oxford Clay Formation. The topography is generally fairly flat and lies at between 34m and 39m above Ordnance Datum (mOD). 2 LEGISLATION AND GUIDANCE 2.1 Relevant protection, guidance and policies relating to the protection, maintenance and enhancement of archaeological sites and other aspects of cultural heritage may be summarised as follows: National policy 2.2 General policy and guidance for the conservation of the historic environment are now contained in Chapter 12 of the new National Planning Policy Framework (Department for Communities and Local Government 2012). Archaeological sites, buildings, parks and gardens, conservation areas, battlefields or other aspects of the historic environment that have significance because of their historic, archaeological, architectural or artistic interest are now considered heritage assets under a revised policy system. The relevant policies are listed below: Paragraph 128 In determining applications, local planning authorities should require an applicant to describe the significance of any heritage assets affected, including any contribution made by their setting. The Melksham Link: Historic Environment Assessment Report no. ACD564/1/0 Page 2 level of detail should be proportionate to the assets’ importance and no more than is sufficient to understand the potential impact of the proposal on their significance. As a minimum the relevant historic environment record should have been consulted and the heritage assets assessed using appropriate expertise where necessary. Where a site on which development is proposed includes or has the potential to include heritage assets with archaeological interest, local planning authorities should require developers to submit an appropriate desk-based assessment and, where necessary, a field evaluation. Paragraph 132 When considering the impact of a proposed development on the significance of a designated heritage asset, great weight should be given to the asset’s conservation. The more important the asset, the greater the weight should be. Significance can be harmed or lost through alteration or destruction of the heritage asset or development within its `setting. 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, park or garden should be exceptional. Substantial harm to or loss of designated heritage assets of the highest significance, notably scheduled monuments, protected wreck sites, battlefields, Grade I and II* listed buildings, Grade I and II* registered parks and gardens, and World Heritage Sites, should be wholly exceptional. Paragraph 135 The effect of an application on the significance of a non-designated heritage asset should be taken into account in determining the application. In weighing applications that affect directly or indirectly non designated heritage assets, a balanced judgement will be required having regard to the scale of any harm or loss and the significance of the heritage asset. Paragraph 137 Local planning authorities should look for opportunities for new development within Conservation Areas and World Heritage Sites and within the setting of heritage assets to enhance or better reveal their significance. 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. Paragraph 139 Non-designated heritage assets of archaeological interest that are demonstrably of equivalent significance to scheduled monuments, should be considered subject to the policies for designated heritage assets. Hedgerows 2.3 Hedgerows of historic importance are afforded protection under The Hedgerow Regulations 1997, section 97 of the Environment Act 1995. The scheme came into effect on 1st June 1997 and any hedgerow, which is defined, at that date, as being of historical or ecological importance may require consent from the local planning authority prior to removal. Although afforded protection by statute, historically important hedgerows are not considered to be ‘designated’ assets