Planning Case Study 59
Priory Orchard, Godalming, Surrey
Planning scenario(s)
Heritage assets affected
Undesignated heritage assets with archaeological and historical interest
Type of application & broad category
Local planning authority
Authority: Waverley Borough Council
References: WA/2011/1981
Development proposal
Erection of 14 affordable residential dwellings with associated landscaping and car parking following demolition of existing dwelling.
Archaeological information known about the site before the planning application was made, or before the development commenced, as appropriate
The development site was within the Area of High Archaeological Potential defined around the historic centre of Godalming. This area is likely to contain archaeological remains relating to the origins and development of the town from the medieval period onwards.
The site also encompassed an area where human remains had been revealed previously. A soakaway excavated in 2007, in connection with Local Authority drainage works for an existing house that did not require planning permission, revealed human remains which were reported to the LPA. Members of the Surrey Heritage Conservation Team attended and recorded the remains, and the site was entered onto the Surrey HER in 2010.
Archaeological/planning processes
An application for affordable housing was submitted in 2011 by the local authority.
Advice was given that the application should not be determined until an evaluation had been carried out, in order to identify if there were human remains on the site, and the extent of any other archaeological features present. Instead, planning permission was granted with a model condition attached (cf Circular 11/95) requiring a programme of archaeological investigation.
The subsequent evaluation and excavations revealed a previously unknown late Saxon–early Medieval cemetery containing at least 300 burials within the footprint of the development. This was at too late a stage for the development to be redesigned. Delays and costs to the programme were therefore incurred.
Radiocarbon dating and artefactual evidence, as well as burial practices associated with the late Saxon period, indicated that the cemetery was in use from the 9th to the early 13th century (c.850-1200). 301 in situ inhumations were recorded. The site was assessed as being of national importance due to its date and restricted period of use.
Outcomes: archaeological
The cemetery was part-excavated and part-preserved in situ. The fact that the scheme design did not take account of the buried archaeological remains meant that the archaeological mitigation works were not part of the construction programme, leading to delay and to three separate phases of archaeological excavation.
The post excavation works proceeded in accordance with the approved excavation WSI, and have been carried out satisfactorily. A publication is in preparation.
Other outcomes/outputs e.g. other public benefit such as public engagement, research and new/changed work practices
None - the developer did not want any publicity or information to be made public at the time.
References and links/bibliography
- Surrey County Archaeological Unit 2010, Land at Priory Orchard and car park, Station Road, Godalming, Surrey, A desk based archaeological assessment. Unpublished report.
- Surrey County Archaeological Unit 2013, Priory Orchard, Station Road, Godalming, Surrey. An Archaeological Trial Trench Evaluation. Unpublished report.
- Surrey County Archaeological Unit 2015, An Archaeological Excavation of Land at Priory Orchard, Station Road, Godalming, Surrey: An Assessment Report. Unpublished report.
