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HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT
Regeneration briefing February 2008
Planning and the historic environment: an introduction
The historic environment, whether or not it is statutorily designated, is a material consideration in the planning process. As a planning authority it is the City Council’s duty to properly manage that historic environment when impacted by development. Where nationally and regionally significant elements of the historic environment are present, the Council is likely to require them to be preserved in situ. In regard to other significant elements of the historic environment, the Council is likely to require preservation by record.
In appraising a development proposal’s impact on the historic environment, the Council requires sufficient information on that historic environment from the developer to enable us to make an informed decision. This process often calls for an archaeological desk-based assessment that pulls together all current relevant information (from the city Historic Environment Record, archives, planning files, borehole data, previous investigations etc). Further information can then be sought by intrusive archaeological investigations (trial trenches, auguring, test pits, building analysis etc). Once we have sufficient information as a planning authority, the Council can form a strategy to mitigate a development’s impact on the historic environment. In the case of elements of the historic environment that require preservation in situ, the Council can refuse a scheme, but more often require the redesign of a proposal (in terms of its footprint position or of its foundations) to mitigate impacts. Where elements require preservation by record, archaeological excavation and/or building recording will be carried out.
GHURC and the historic environment
The City Council is the regulator (the local planning authority) in relation to all the GHURC areas and has an in house Historic Environment Team that provides planning and historic environment advice to development control planners. In addition, the Historic Environment Team advises GHURC directly in partnership with the County Council’s County Archaeologist.
Community engagement and the historic environment
The City Council requires that the information gathered in assessment, evaluation and mitigation is properly archived and appropriately disseminated. Where opportunities for wider community engagement can be taken, these may include training excavations, site tours, open days, exhibitions, skills workshops, re-enactments, building recording, archive investigation and documentary research, artefact identification and finds processing, seminars, and link ups with visual and performance arts. Such activities would be funded through S106 contributions from developers or through public subsidy from the likes of the SW Regional Development Agency, English Partnerships or the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Blackfriars Quarter
Key partners
· City Council
· County Council
· Developers
· English Heritage
· GHURC
· SWRDA
· University of Gloucestershire
Historic environment background
The area, being within the core of Roman and medieval city, includes extensive, significant elements of the historic environment. Many of these hold statutory designations, including 94 buildings listed as being of national architectural and historic importance, five scheduled monuments and three conservations areas. The City Council’s Historic Environment Record notes 324 sites or archaeological find spots of at least local significance in the area.
The area comprises a quarter of the Roman colonia (the highest status of city other than Rome) and includes the western half of the forum, the basilica, the riverfront and quaysides, and the western and southern Roman defences along with the West and South gates. Similarly the area comprises a quarter of the medieval city and includes notable structures such as the Saxon motte and bailey, the Norman and later medieval castle and Blackfriars Priory (the best surviving Dominican priory in the world) and the medieval riverfront and quaysides. St Bartholomew’s Hospital is on the western margins of the area. Civil War defences are likely to survive in the area and later, post-medieval buildings include fine seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth-century town houses.
Planning, development and the historic environment
An historic environment desk-based assessment has been completed for the area. This is currently being refined to produce a deposit model of the buried historic environment, as it is currently understood, to inform master planners, developers and local authority planners. A programme of intrusive evaluation will follow this year to further refine this model. Much of this work will need to concentrate on the riverside and around Shire Hall, where least information on the historic environment is currently known. It is anticipated that numerous phases of quays, from the Roman to the nineteenth century, may survive (the course of the river has moved further from the city over the last 2,000 years) within what is likely to be waterlogged deposits. Such deposits cause extra problems in terms of conservation: dehydration of organic features (such as wooden quaysides) and organic deposits (such as pollen samples) caused by development will lead to their destruction.
Once the evaluation phase has been completed, the strategy for the mitigation of the development’s impact on the historic environment can be formulated. In practice, the process will unfold in a piecemeal fashion across the whole area as different parts of the area move towards development at differing speeds. It is likely that the riverside and Shire Hall sections will be the last to be developed.
It should be noted that English Heritage own Blackfriars’ Priory. Close liaison with them will be necessary.
Community engagement and the historic environment
A draft brief has been presented to GHURC on opportunities for community engagement with the historic environment in the Blackfriars’ Quarter. Aspects of this may overlap with the needs of the planning process, but much of this will be extra to planning and will, therefore, require total public subsidy. We should know what level of funding by the end of February 2008. Most if not all of the funding will come from the RDA. The programme of community engagement very much depends of the level of funding. We currently envisage that it will include training excavations, building investigation, documentary research, finds handling and processing, and arts related activities.
Canal Corridor
Key partners
· British Waterways
· City Council
· Developers
· GHURC
Historic environment background
The area contains no historic environment statutory designations. Little systematic archaeological investigation has been carried out in the area, therefore, the current level of knowledge is low. The floodplain alluvium is likely to contain organic deposits that hold palaeo-environmental materials that may allow for past landscape reconstruction. The area includes the main southerly Roman road from the city, a medieval moated manor house and the nineteenth-century canal, with its associated industrial age heritage.
Planning, development and the historic environment
An historic environment desk-based assessment has been completed for the area. Intrusive evaluation and historic building assessment will be required on a site by site basis as these move towards planning.
Community engagement and the historic environment
Opportunities are more restricted than with the Blackfriars’ Quarter. Dissemination of historic environment information (and its inclusion on the city’s Historic Environment Record) will be secured in the usual way by appropriately worded conditions on any planning consents. Any community engagement opportunities beyond this would be funded by the developer and could include the recording of industrial age buildings. It may be appropriate to seek such funding through S106 agreements with individual developers.
Gloucester Docks
Key partners
· British Waterways
· City Council
· Developers
· GHURC
· SWRDA
Historic environment background
The Docks area is most sensitive in terms of its historic built environment. The area includes a conservation area, and 32 buildings and structures listed as being of national architectural and historic significance. These are, in the main, nineteenth-century warehouses associated with the late Georgian and Victorian canal basin and docks.
The floodplain alluvium is likely to contain organic deposits that hold palaeo-environmental materials that may allow for past landscape reconstruction. In addition the northern margin of the area is likely to include elements of the defence lines to the Roman and medieval city and of the Civil War defences. Southgate Moorings site abuts the Roman road and is close to the southern gate of the city.
Planning, development and the historic environment
An historic environment desk-based assessment has been completed for the area. There is predominantly only one outstanding site left for major development in the area. Intrusive evaluation will be required on the Southgate Moorings site (between Victoria Basin and Southgate Street) in advance of any planning decision. In addition historic building analysis (and some possible intrusive evaluation) is likely to be needed if the SWRDA owned property between the Yacht Club and the Regimental Museum on Commercial Road becomes a development site.
Community engagement and the historic environment
Much has been done already in aspects of community engagement. SWRDA has funded a ‘Docks Interpretation Strategy’. Opportunities for site visits, public open days, exhibitions etc may arise at the Southgate Moorings site. The findings of the evaluation will indicate when a community training excavation would be a viable option. A programme of community engagement, provided by the developer, would be secured by appropriately worded conditions on any consents and, where appropriate, S106 contributions.
Gloucester Quays
Key partners
· British Waterways
· City Council
· Developers
· GHURC
· Gloucestershire College
· Llanthony Priory Trust
· SWRDA
Historic environment background
The area includes a conservation area and seventeen buildings and structures listed as being of national architectural and historic significance. These are, in the main, nineteenth-century warehouses and other wharf structures associated with the late Georgian and Victorian canal basin and docks. In addition the area includes Llanthony Secunda Priory, a scheduled monument.
Planning, development and the historic environment
An historic environment desk-based assessment has been completed for the area and the archaeological evaluation of the area is likely to be completed in February. Development of the factory outlet is well advanced. Mitigation of its impact on the historic environment included the archaeological excavation of St Luke’s graveyard and ongoing archaeological monitoring and recording during ground works.
The Bishops’ holdings site, still in an initial pre-planning phase, will require extensive historic building analysis and possibly some intrusive archaeological evaluation. The findings of which would inform the planning process.
Community engagement and the historic environment
Dissemination of historic environment information (and its inclusion on the city’s Historic Environment Record) will be secured in the usual way by appropriately worded conditions on any planning consents. Any community engagement opportunities beyond this would be funded by the developer and could include the recording of industrial age buildings. It may be appropriate to seek such funding through S106 agreements with individual developers. Any new information on the outer precinct of Llanthony Priory would need to be added to the existing archive and S106 funding to introduce and upgrade interpretative material may be sought.
Greyfriars
Key partners
· City Council
· Developers
· Eastgate Mall owners
· English Heritage
· English Partnerships
· GHURC
· SWRDA
Historic environment background
The Greyfriars and former GlosCAT area, the smallest of the GHURC areas, includes a conservation area, two scheduled monuments and one group of buildings listed as being of national architectural and historic significance. The area, being within the core of Roman and medieval city, includes extensive, significant elements of the historic environment. The area comprises a section of the Roman colonia and includes parts of the eastern and southern Roman defences and numerous Roman town houses. Similarly the area comprises a section of the medieval city. Much of the area was within the precinct of the Greyfriar’s Priory, the church of which survives extant immediately abutting the north side of the area. Civil War defences survive in the area and later, post-medieval buildings include eighteenth and nineteenth-century town houses and terrace.
Planning, development and the historic environment
An historic environment desk-based assessment including a deposit model has been completed for the area. A programme of intrusive evaluation will follow this year to further refine this model. Once the evaluation phase has been completed, the strategy for the mitigation of the development’s impact on the historic environment can be formulated.
One particular area of contention is likely to emerge. The 1928 GlosCAT building is likely to receive a level of community support for its retention. The Council’s current position is that it awaits proposals and, if demolition is proposed, would require a building of a higher design quality to replace it, since it is seen as a landmark building that adds to the quality of the conservation area. Additional concern will be raised over the open space fronting the 1928 building. There has been no development here since the Roman and medieval defence lines were slighted. Arguments to retain and present these monuments within a public open space will be considered.
It should also be noted that proposals are emerging for the redevelopment of the market hall and the area around Greyfriars’ church to the immediate north of the area.
Community engagement and the historic environment
Dissemination of historic environment information (and its inclusion on the city’s Historic Environment Record) will be secured in the usual way by appropriately worded conditions on any planning consents. Any community engagement opportunities beyond this would be funded by the developer and could include the recording of industrial age buildings. It may be appropriate to seek such funding through S106 agreements with individual developers. Any new information on Greyfriars’ Priory would need to be added to the existing archive and S106 funding to introduce and upgrade interpretative material may be sought; there will need to be close liaison with English Heritage who own the church.
King’s Quarter
Key partners
· City Council
· Developers
· GHURC
· SWRDA
Historic environment background
Part of the area, being within the core of Roman and medieval city, includes extensive, significant elements of the historic environment. Many of these hold statutory designations, including four buildings listed as being of national architectural and historic importance, three scheduled monuments and two conservation areas. The City Council’s Historic Environment Record notes 144 sites or archaeological find spots of at least local significance in the area.
The area comprises a section of the Roman colonia and includes the northern and eastern defences. Similarly the area comprises a section of the medieval city including the northern and eastern defences, with the north-eastern postern gate. Outside the historic city, in the current bus station, Roman burials may be present, but the major site is that of the Whitefriars’ Priory. Little is currently known, but since the bus station was preceded by a medieval and post-medieval cattle market, it is likely that extensive buried remains survive. Civil War defences are likely to survive in the area. In addition around Kings Square elements of the 1930s (the Regal and Debenhams) and the 1970s (Kingswalk) regeneration programmes survive.
Planning, development and the historic environment
An historic environment desk-based assessment has been completed for the area. A programme of intrusive evaluation will follow this year, or next, to add to the findings and develop a deposit model. This process is particularly important for the Whitefriars’ site, which could become a substantial ‘risk’ for any developer. Once the evaluation phase has been completed, the strategy for the mitigation of the development’s impact on the historic environment can be formulated.
Community engagement and the historic environment
Dissemination of historic environment information (and its inclusion on the city’s Historic Environment Record) will be secured in the usual way by appropriately worded conditions on any planning consents. The developer’s archaeological consultant is currently formulating a community engagement strategy (based on the City Council’s documents) and is securing funding to put this into action. Likely community engagement could include a community training excavation on the Whitefriars’ site. There are also great opportunities within the Kings Square environs to have exhibition spaces, activity and information hubs and re-enactment activities.
Railway Triangle
Key partners
· City Council
· Developers
· GHURC
· SWRDA
Historic environment background
The area contains no historic environment statutory designations. Little systematic archaeological investigation has been carried out in the area; therefore, the current level of knowledge is low. The area is mainly affected by the nineteenth and twentieth-century railway heritage, but no buildings survive. Roman burials in lead coffins were recovered in the nineteenth century. It is not known whether the area includes the southern extent of the Wotton Roman cemetery.
Planning, development and the historic environment
An historic environment desk-based assessment has been completed for the area. Intrusive evaluation will be required as the area moves towards planning.
Community engagement and the historic environment
Opportunities are likely to be restricted. Dissemination of historic environment information (and its inclusion on the city’s Historic Environment Record) will be secured in the usual way by appropriately worded conditions on any planning consents. Any community engagement opportunities beyond this would be funded by the developer and could include investigation of burials, although the site is severely contaminated with hydrocarbons, lead paint and other chemicals relating to the coach building and railways industries. It may prove appropriate to seek funding through S106 agreements with individual developers.
Jonathan Smith, Historic Environment Manager, Gloucester City Council
jonathan.smith@gloucester.gov.uk 01452 396346
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