Planning Case Study 137
Wootton, Esher Park Avenue, Esher, Surrey
Planning scenario(s)
Heritage assets affected
Undesignated heritage assets with archaeological and historic interest
Type of application & broad category
Local planning authority
Authority: Elmbridge Borough Council
References: 2010/1199
Development proposal
Construction of 5 detached and 8 semi-detached (13 in total) three storey houses, following demolition of existing 36 flats.
Archaeological information known about the site before the planning application was made, or before the development commenced, as appropriate
The site was adjacent to a defined Area of High Archaeological Potential and in size was in excess of the Local Plan policy threshold (0.4ha) above which archaeological assessment is required. The application was submitted without the required assessment, the production of which was made a pre-determination requirement.
Archaeological/planning processes
A pre-determination desk-based assessment, followed by a nine-trench evaluation secured by a pre-commencement planning condition, and three targeted excavations were undertaken in 2011. The desk-based assessment showed a moderate potential for unknown heritage assets of archaeological significance to be present.
The excavation identified early Mesolithic flints, including microlithic flint points, microburins and at least four core adze fragments and a scraper (c. 9600-7600 cal BC) suggesting the presence of a discrete short-stay knapping episode centred around a hearth. Activity appears to have been geared to the maintenance and repair of a hunting and foraging kit, rather than any long-stay ‘base-camp’ type occupation.
Within the northern part of the site was a circular structure formed by postholes suggesting a small Iron Age roundhouse. Within the southern part of the site was a series of Saxon pits and gullies. Overlying these features were ard marks that represent a rare example of early ploughing on the site.
Following the excavation the developer queried the need to fund the further work recommended in the resulting Updated Project Design and the condition remained undischarged (no restriction on occupancy relating to archaeological work was attached).
Outcomes: archaeological
Contact via the Enforcement Officer of the LPA in 2016 produced a written assurance from the developer of the provision of funding, following which the condition was discharged. The report is awaiting publication in the local archaeological society journal.
Saxon occupation evidence in Surrey is rare. Whilst the use of the Saxon ard is well documented, the discovery of ard marks is very rare as they are usually obliterated by later ploughing. Environmental samples recovered from nearby pits showed that barley was the most abundant cereal in terms of grains but it was evident that wheat was also an important cereal in the settlement. The discovery of such evidence is certainly of regional significance and, together with more recent finds in the locale, is allowing a picture to be formed of how the area around Esher was utilised during this under-represented period.
In addition, it has shed further light on the broad timescale of the utilisation of the immediate vicinity from at least the early Mesolithic, where the flint assemblage represents the remains of a relatively undisturbed short-stay occupancy by a hunter-gatherer group, through to the early medieval origins of the settlement.
References and links/bibliography
- MoLA 2011, Wootton, Esher Park Avenue, Esher, Surrey: evaluation report. Unpublished report.
- MoLA 2012, Esher Park Avenue, Esher, Surrey, Post-excavation assessment and updated project design. Unpublished report.
