Planning Case Study 176
Land north of Lepe Country Park, Lepe, Fawley, Hampshire
Planning scenario(s)
Heritage assets affected
Undesignated heritage assets with archaeological and historic interest
Type of application & broad category
Local planning authority
Authority: New Forest National Park
References: 08/93154/FULL
Development proposal
Temporary use of land for a trial drill (in connection with Hampshire – Isle of Wight gas pipeline).
The application was for exploratory works of short duration only, the rest of the scheme being Permitted Development.
Archaeological information known about the site before the planning application was made, or before the development commenced, as appropriate
The drill site lay in a sensitive area, adjacent to an SSSI, SAC and RAMSAR site with consequent requirements for the land to be restored to its former condition after the works had taken place.
No archaeological information was available for the development site itself, but it is within an area of high archaeological potential with finds from the Neolithic, Roman and later periods.
A desk-based assessment had been undertaken in connection with an adjacent water pipeline; this, and the subsequent watching brief on the pipeline route, were considered to be a good guide to the archaeological potential of the area.
Archaeological/planning processes
Consultation was undertaken with the National Park archaeological adviser, who responded using information from the County HER, the Hampshire Archaeological and Historic Buildings Record, the results of the desk-based assessment for the adjacent water pipeline, and the report on the watching brief during this scheme.
No objection was made to the proposal but a pre-commencement planning condition to secure archaeological recording was recommended, with information that this would probably comprise a watching brief. Planning permission was granted in 2007 with the recommended planning condition.
A WSI for a watching brief during the site clearance of the compound and exploratory area was agreed. The watching brief revealed a small pit and little else. The pit contained comminuted charcoal of late Neolithic date.
A watching brief was agreed for the remainder of the easement where the pipe was to be constructed. Initial topsoil clearance close to and north of the site compound and exploratory area revealed archaeological deposits along all of the pipeline route where clearance had taken place.
Further negotiations took place and the developers agreed a programme of work, enabling the archaeological remains that were revealed to be cleaned, mapped, and sampled, and a post-excavation programme to be agreed subsequently.
In view of the archaeological remains identified it was agreed that no further top soil stripping was to take place and that bog mats or terram and scalpings were to be placed on the soil surface to remove the necessity to strip the top soil and thus to avoid disturbance to any further archaeological remains.
It was also agreed that no deep mole ploughing would take place to a greater depth than routine ploughing once the installation had been completed in order to minimise damage to the surviving archaeological remains during future agricultural operations.
Outcomes: archaeological
The archaeological investigation revealed some evidence of prehistoric activity in the form of Mesolithic and later flints. A complex area of Roman settlement comprised ditches, pits, kilns/hearths and structural features of at least two phases, during the 1st and 2nd centuries, and then a main phase of occupation dated to the 3rd and 4th centuries. During this later phase a rectilinear field system, aligned on the nearby Roman road, was laid out across the landscape, followed by the production of grog-tempered pottery in a number of small kilns.
Aerial photographs and previously discovered finds suggest that this newly discovered settlement covered an area some 300m square, straddling the narrow strip of land along which a Roman road passed to reach the coast of the Solent less than 1km to the south. The settlement undoubtedly formed an important node between land and sea trade in the Roman period.
Other outcomes/outputs e.g. other public benefit such as public engagement, research and new/changed work practices
Research undertaken for the final report located information on Roman coins and other metalwork obtained during metal detecting in the vicinity of the site, published in 2003 but not recorded in the County HER, and which was therefore not available during the initial consultation response on the development. Lack of resources has an impact on the ability of some HERs regularly to capture published material, and therefore on the completeness of the record.
References and links/bibliography
- Southampton Archaeology Unit 2009, Archaeological watching brief at Lepe, Hampshire. Unpublished report.
- Southampton Archaeology Unit 2012, Report on a watching brief and archaeological excavation at Lepe, Hampshire. Unpublished report.
