Planning Case Study 148

Pre-determination desk-based assessment was carried out and identified that some archaeological evidence could have survived construction of the then standing buildings, although this was thought to be relatively limited - being restricted to areas where the buildings had not been terraced into the slope.

Given the presence of standing buildings, pre-determination evaluation was not thought to be feasible and the archaeological advisor to the LPA recommended a pre-commencement condition to secure appropriate investigation. Following the demolition of buildings to slab level, a phase of trial trenching was undertaken to confirm the site's archaeological potential. This work indicated that terracing had impacted on the survival of buried evidence but, despite this, there was good archaeological survival in several areas. In one of these areas, the remains of a pair of 19th century steel cementation furnaces was identified. As the scheme had consent, preservation in situ was not an option, since the scheme’s design was already fixed.

The impact of the development on the remains was mitigated by detailed recording of the furnaces and associated remains, as well as the more fragmentary remains of the earlier 18th century steelworks on this site; final reporting and publication are currently awaited.

Whether the additional work required put strain on the budget for the development is unknown. If evaluation could have been carried out pre- determination and the furnace remains identified at that stage, the archaeological advisors to the LPA would have requested them to be incorporated within the scheme.