Heritage Impact Assessment Land To North Of Little Beckjay Proposal - This proposal consists of the construction of two detached open market cottages on land to the north of Little Beckjay with the formation of a new vehicular access exiting on to Beckjay Lane. The proposed site is located in the south Shropshire hamlet of Beckjay, within the parish of Clungunford. Photo showing the rear of the proposed site along part of the western boundary. The purpose of this report is to conform with current government guidelines regarding listed buildings and their settings in the 1990 listed buildings and conservation areas legislation together with further guidance introduced in 2012 as part the the National Planning Policy Framework ( NPPF ). This guidance states heritage assets as - ‘A building, monument, site, place, area or landscape identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions, because of its heritage interest. Heritage asset includes designated heritage assets and assets identified by the local planning authority (including local listing)' Relevant guidelines to the scale of this proposed development and report are described within the ( NPPF ) - ..'to describe the significance of any heritage assets affected, including any contribution made by their setting. The level of detail should be proportionate to the assets’ importance and no more than is sufficient to understand the potential impact of the proposals on their significance’.3 Site Appraisal - The proposed development site currently constitutes part of the substantial garden / amenity land of the grade II listed Little Beckjay to the south of the site. A small dilapidated bird aviary ( soon to be removed ) currently sits on the site along with an area used for bonfires. The remainder of the site is laid to grass with tress / shrubs around parts of its boarders. Little Beckjay ( including the proposed site ) was purchased by the current owners in 2015 following a substantial period in the ownership of the previous occupants. During the current ownership many much needed improvements have been carried out on both the house and grounds including work on the proposed site which has included the removal of dead , diseased and storm damaged trees by both the occupants and electricity provider during scheduled tree management. Although the hamlet of Beckjay is not a designated conservation area it does contain three separate designated heritage assets ( three listed buildings ) whilst also being an historic and attractive hamlet typical of others within the area, which make a positive contribution to the parish. Therefore careful consideration and thought has been given to the both the design and impact on the proposed development in relation to its setting. The Hamlet - Beckjay is a small hamlet in the south Shropshire countryside within the parish of nearby Clungunford, being close to the boarder with Herefordshire to the south, on the western banks of the River Clun. It was a medieval township with It's name being derived from that of an historic family Elias de Jay, who held the local manor of nearby Bedstone until 1349. A relative of this family was Brian de Jay, who was the last recorded master of the Knights Templar. The former Beckjay Mill situated northeast on the banks of the River Clun was subject to several paintings by the renowned painter David Cox ( 1783 - 1859 ) considered to be one of the greatest English landscape painters in the Golden age of English watercolour. All that remains of this once productive mill is sections of the foundations walls with the majority of the stone having been picked for nearby construction of dwellings within the parish ever since the mill became redundant. Development within the hamlet runs adjacent to Beckjay Lane forming a linear pattern of development on both the eastern and western flanks of this lane. The proposed cottages would infill in between two existing properties along the western boundary of the lane, resulting in a development that mirrors all existing development within the hamlet and infilling a substantial gap in development that exists between The Paigles on the northern tip of the settlement and the rest of Beckjay hamlet. This would result in a uniform patten of development ' tying in ' The Paigles with the remainder of this close knit hamlet. The architecture and local vernacular of the hamlet is diverse, with a timeline of properties constructed from the 16th / 17th centuries, continuing through to the most recently constructed property built in 2009. These consist of both large and small detached two story houses together with semi detached cottages and an attractive recently constructed bungalow. The make up of the individual properties from north to south within this close knit hamlet is as follows - The Paigles - A detached property built in 1974. Construction details include modern red brick, tiled roof covering together with casement pvc windows. LIttle Beckjay - A detached grade II listed property of late 16th / early 17th century origins. Construction details include timber framed with brick infill , stone and render, Welsh slate roof covering and timber cottage style Windows. The Thatch - A once modest detached 17th century grade II listed cottage which had benefited from recent extensive renovation together with segregated extension to the rear. Construction details include timber frame with lime render infill , modern rendered block ( extension ) together with both a traditional thatch and tile roof covering. Cottage style timber Windows with dormer Windows on the front ( road side ) elevation. Roof lights on rear extension Beckjay cottages - An pair of semi detached early 20th century cottages , extended at the turn of the 21st century. Construction details include red brick with Welsh slate roof covering together with cottage style Windows. Beckjay Farmhouse - A detached 18th century grade II listed farmhouse. Construction details include red brick with a tiled roof covering , timber framed casement windows which include both bay and dormer Windows on its front ( southern ) elevation. Gardeners cottage - A attractive detached bungalow constructed in 2009/2010. Construction details include red brick with lime style pointing and a tiled roof covering including decorative ridge tiles. Traditional Cottage style timber casement windows. As can be derived both building styles and methods within the hamlet are diverse however if a particular vernacular could be singled out then it would that of red brick construction with either a slate or tiled roof covering, together with cottage style timber Windows which includes dormer Windows. Design And Details Of Proposed Development - The design and construction details / finishes chosen for the proposed development have been carefully assessed so as to blend in with the existing properties within the hamlet adding to a sense of architectural continuity as to enhance the street scene. Details chosen for the proposed cottages which would result in a very high quality and sensitive design are as follows - External finish - Red brick, these would consist of handmade imperial 3" restoration bricks constructed using traditional lime mortar, with joints having a brushed finish rather than a struck finish as in standard practice with many brick builds. All fenestrations would have a brick arched lintel detail above adding to the traditional cottage style. Roof covering - Welsh slate, this would consist of traditional Welsh slate as seen on properties through the hamlet including Little Beckjay adjoining the proposed site. Doors , windows and external joinery - Timber , this would consist of a subtle green painted joinery details to include all doors , windows and facia / barge boards and porch. Windows and doors would be cottage style with Windows having a horizontal glazing bar on each window light. Black hinges and external iron work. Guttering - Reproduction cast iron / cast iron effect for all rain water and waste water management to include clutters, down pipes and soil stack systems. Dormer Windows - Two other properties within the hamlet have dormer Windows. Dormer Windows have been used in the design for two reasons. Firstly to mirror other properties within the hamlet , producing two attractive and interesting cottages. Secondly and importantly to enable the cottages to have a low final ridge height , thus creating two modest and well proportioned cottages without creating an over baring development to either the street scene or to neighbouring properties. Hard standing - Traditional permeable block paving , drive way and parking area shall consisted of traditional block paving to create an attractive covering that would compliment the cottages. All of those design details combined would result in an extremely high quality and attractive development that would be an enhancement to the street scene and hamlet, whist also mirroring and adding the local vernacular, particularly so the other modest cottages in that hamlet being red brick with a slate roof covering and cottage style Windows. Designated Heritage Assets - There are three designated heritage assets within Beckay, including Beckjay Farmhouse, The Thatch and Little Beckjay being the closest to the proposed development site. Beckjay Farmhouse - A grade II listed farmhouse listed on the 28th May 1987. An early to mid 18th century dwelling with later alterations. Beckjay Farmhouse is a very substantial distance away from the proposed development with no possible way of