Assessment of the Significance of Impact of Development on Historic Landscape of Historic Interest in Wales 2 _________ Wentlooge Levels, Newport April 2020 | Project Ref 01384A Wentlooge Farmers Solar project – ASIDOHL2 | 1 Project Number: 01384A Authored by: James Meek and Dr Paula Jones Date: April 2020 Document version M:\Archaeology Collective\Projects\Projects 1001-1500\Projects 1301-1400\01384 - Land at St. Brides Wentlooge\01384A\Reports\01384A - Wentlooge ASIDOHL V1.docx Wentlooge Farmers Solar project – ASIDOHL2 | 2 Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................ 5 2. Aims and Objectives ............................................................................ 9 3. Historic Landscape Background ......................................................... 11 4. ASIDOHL Process .............................................................................. 18 5. Stage 4 - Evaluation of Relative Importance ....................................... 29 6. Stage 5 - Assessment of Overall Significance of Impact ...................... 41 7. Bibliography ...................................................................................... 45 8. The Gwent Levels Historic Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest in Wales ................................................................................................ 48 Figures Fig. 1 ZTV plan prepared by WYG Fig. 2 ZTV plan prepared by WYG with Historic Landscape Character areas which lie within the proposed development area Fig. 3 ZTV plan prepared by WYG with Historic Landscape Character areas lying within 4km of the site boundary Fig. 4 ZTV plan prepared by WYG with Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Registered Parks and Gardens with 4km overlaid Fig. 5 ZTV plan prepared by WYG with Conservation areas and Grade I (bold) and Grade II* listed buildings indicated Wentlooge Farmers Solar project – ASIDOHL2 | 3 1.0 Wentlooge Farmers Solar project – ASIDOHL2 | 4 1. Introduction Project Background 1.1 This Assessment of the Significance of Impact of Development on Historic Landscape of Historic Interest in Wales 2 (ASIDOHL2) has been prepared by James Meek of Archaeology Collective and Dr Paula Jones of Heritage Collective for the proposed Wentlooge Farmers Solar Farm project in southeast Wales within Newport City Council (and area of c.162ha centred on SS 27645 81850. This report covers all stage of the ASIDOHL2 process, using information initially put together by Dr Paula Jones for Stages 1 – 3 of the ASIDOHL2 process and updated within this report. 1.2 The Wentlooge Farmers Solar Scheme lies within the Gwent Levels landscape included within the Register of Landscapes of Historic Interests in Wales (Ref number HLW(Gt)2), The development boundary partially covers two character areas within the wider Gwent Levels HLW: Western St Brides (HLCA No 16) and Maerdy (HLCA 21). 1.3 The scheme has been subject to the preparation of a previous Heritage Statement1 and ES chapter2 by Savills, both of which have been updated this year. The Heritage Statement describes the development proposals as follows: ‘The proposed development will be a Renewable Energy Hub comprising ground mounted solar panels and battery storage units (160 units) with a combined installed generating capacity of up to 125MW. ‘The proposal includes a ground mounted solar farm with arrays set out in rows and mounted on a framework system which is either screwed or driven in to the ground. The proposals will be temporary for a period of 40 years after which the site would be returned to its current condition. Sheep would be grazed between the panels in order to provide additional income for the landowners and serve to maintain the grassland. ‘The proposed development includes supporting infrastructure comprising inverter cabins, transformers, grid connection hub, stock proof fence, CCTV, underground cabling, temporary vehicle tracks, access and landscaping.’ 1.4 These reports considered the full historic environment, which for the purposes of planning policy in Wales, is defined as ‘All aspects of the environment resulting 1 Savills 2020a, Land at Wentlooge, Newport – Heritage Statement March 2020 2 Savills 2020b, Chapter 6 Heritage and Archaeology for the Environmental Statement Wentlooge Farmers Solar project – ASIDOHL2 | 5 from the interaction between people and places through time, including all surviving physical remains of past human activity, whether visible, buried or submerged, and deliberately planted or managed’. 1.5 and The guidance defines a historic asset as ‘An identifiable component of the historic environment. It may consist or be a combination of an archaeological site, a historic building or area, historic park and garden or a parcel of historic landscape. Nationally important historic assets will normally be designated (Welsh Government 2017).’ 1.6 Further guidance on how the planning system considers the historic environment and assets during development planning, preparation and decision making on planning and Listed Building (LBC) applications can be found in. Planning Policy Wales: Technical Advice Note 24: The Historic Environment (Welsh Government 2017; available online). 1.7 As the development will have a direct physical impact upon the Gwent Levels Registered HLW area Stages 1 to 3 of the ASIDOHL2 process were previously undertaken by Savills in 20183, these have been updated and included in the report below in collaboration with Dr Paula Jones (formerly of Savills and now Heritage Collective). 1.8 This report includes Stages 4 and 5 of the ASIDOHL2 methodology; its wider impacts on the setting of other elements of the Gwent Levels HLW towards Cardiff and on the eastern side of Newport. The report will be used to support the planning applications for the proposed solar farm development. 1.9 The scope of this ASIDOHL was agreed with Neil Maylan, Senior Historic Environment Planning Officer, Cadw in April 2020. 1.10 Cadw agreed that indirect visual impacts be assessed on Registered Historic Landscapes and Registered Parks and Gardens lying within a 4km buffer from the site edge. This buffer is referred to as the HL Study Area (Figure 12.16). A single Registered Park and Garden lies within the HL Study Area. 1.11 The full description of the Gwent Levels Registered Historic Landscapes and its Historic Character Areas (HCAs), is contained below in Section 8. 1.12 This report should be read in conjunction with the other documents to provide a full assessment of the impact of the proposed solar farm on the Historic Environment of the Gwent Levels, including designated historic assets (Scheduled Monuments, registered Historic Landscapes, registered Parks and Gardens, Grade I, II* & II 3 Savills 2018, Wentlooge, ASIDOHLs Assessment Tables report Wentlooge Farmers Solar project – ASIDOHL2 | 6 Listed Buildings) and non-designated historic assets recorded on the regional Historic Environment Record. 1.13 This report concentrates on the impacts of the proposed Wentlooge Farmer’s Solar Farm project on designated historic assets within a defined area around the Site. It has been determined that due to the low level development height of the Solar Farm and its southern orientation (avoiding glare or reflector enhancing visibility to the northwest, north and northeast) that a 4km zone around the Site would be sufficient on which to base impacts. The Zone of Theoretical Visibility that has been prepared by WYG (Figure 1), demonstrates that the extent visibility where the majority of the solar farm would be visible diminishes rapidly to over 4km, especially to the west and east, although patches of visibility will be present on the higher ground directly to the north. The Site 1.14 The proposed solar farm Site covers an area of around 162ha, lying around 6km to the southwest of the centre of Newport and 10km northeast of the centre of Cardiff. The village of St Brides lies 800m to the east, Peterstone/Llanbedr 950m to the southwest and the settlement of Marshfield is around 500m to the northwest. 1.15 The Site comprises agricultural land on the low lying Wentlooge Levels some 600m to 1km northwest of the northern bank of the Severn Estuary. The Wentlooge Levels form part of the larger Gwent Levels that run along the northern bank of the Severn Estuary from the River Rhymney in Cardiff in the west to the River Wye at Chepstow on the Wales – England border to the east. 1.16 The site is bounded by the Broadway Reeve to the east, the South Wales Main Line railway to the north, Hawse Lane to the east and the line of the B4239 between St Brides and Peterstone to the south. The area is subdivided into a number of fields separated by water filled ditches (‘reens’), characteristic of the Gwent Levels, associated with reclamation of the land from the Roman period through to the present day. The British Geological Survey records the underlying bedrock of the Site as ‘Mercia Mudstone Group – Mudstone; Sedimentary Bedrock formed approximately 201 to 252 million years ago in the Triassic Period. When the local environment previously dominated by hot deserts’4. Superficial deposits comprise ‘Tidal Flat Deposits - Clay and Silt; Superficial Deposits formed up to 2 million years ago in the Quaternary Period when the local environment previously dominated by shorelines’5. 4 BGS website: https://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyofbritain/home.html accessed 26/04/2020 5 Ibid Wentlooge Farmers Solar project – ASIDOHL2 | 7 2.0 Wentlooge Farmers Solar project – ASIDOHL2 | 8