Planning Case Study 66
Land At Eye Airfield, Castleton Way, Eye, Suffolk
Planning scenario(s)
Heritage assets affected
Undesignated heritage assets with archaeological and historic interest
Type of application & broad category
Local planning authority
Authority: Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils
References: 3563/15
Development proposal
Outline application for a development comprising up to 280 dwellings, a 60 bed residential care home, associated infrastructure and other facilities.
Archaeological information known about the site before the planning application was made, or before the development commenced, as appropriate
Evidence of human use of the landscape from the prehistoric period onwards has been found in close proximity to the development site, including Neolithic flint finds, late Neolithic- early Bronze age cremations and a burial, late Bronze Age- early Iron Age settlement, several areas of Roman settlement, an Anglo-Saxon settlement and probable cemetery, medieval and later activity including the small medieval town of Eye to the south. From the development site itself metal detecting finds have included Anglo-Saxon brooches.
Archaeological/planning processes
Pre-determination desk-based assessment and evaluation was recommended by the LPA’s archaeological adviser.
Following the desk-based assessment, and in view of the previous metal- detected finds from the site, a metal detecting survey was carried out; no further material of significance was identified.
A geophysical survey detected linear features which could have represented former ditches or drains, or perhaps traces of an enclosure relating to a former field system.
Subsequent evaluation trenching identified early Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron age, Anglo-Saxon and late medieval activity. Sixty-three trencheswere excavated within the proposed development area, with some trenches targeting archaeological features suggested by geophysical survey and others located to test supposedly blank areas.
The earliest recorded features comprised six postholes, ascribed to a possible early Neolithic settlement site. Later Prehistoric, early and middle Iron Age occupation was present in two forms, the first being a trackway aligned north to south, for which there was evidence of metalling in the form of a remnant of a cobbled surface, and also in the form of a series of discrete and dispersed pits and postholes.
In the eastern part of the site, were three graves and a horse burial which are potentially of Anglo-Saxon date. These may form a small burial ground for a family group, associated with the settlement site located to the south at Hartismere School.
Later medieval activity comprised the remains of two phases of field boundaries, and a pre-enclosure field boundary.
Outcomes: archaeological
It has been proposed that the most sensitive area of the site – that of the small cemetery – should be preserved in situ by using it as open space within the development area. An appropriate planning condition (Condition 14) was attached to the planning permission to achieve this, and to secure a management plan for the ongoing protection of this area.
The pre-commencement planning condition also requires the archaeological investigation of the rest of the site, the analysis of the evidence recorded, and the preparation of a report and archive.
References and links/bibliography
- Oxford Archaeology East 2015, Desk-based Assessment, Eye Airfield, Parcels 13-15, Eye, Suffolk. Unpublished report, OAE no 1748.
- Bartlett-Clark Consultancy 2015, Land at Eye Airfield Eye, Suffolk, Geophysical Survey. Unpublished report.
- Oxford Archaeology East 2015, Multi-Period Remains at Eye Airfield, Parcels 13-15, Eye, Suffolk, Archaeological Evaluation Report. Unpublished report, OAE no 1742.
