| Title: |
Cultural Heritage Baseline and Impact Assessment: Bengrove Solar Farm, Twigworth, Tewkesbury, GL2 9NU |
| Series: |
Abrams Archaeology Ltd unpublished report series
|
| Downloads: |
|
abramsar2-511996_193949.pdf (38 MB)
:
|
Download
|
|
| Licence Type: |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International Licence
|
| DOI |
|
| Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
|
| Abstract: |
The proposal is for a solar farm. The application area is 26.3ha in size. That part of it where panels are proposed is 18.7ha and the solar farm would be centred at NGR SO 83846 22576, c. 0.7km to the northwest of Twigworth and c. 1.3km southeast of Sandhurst (Figure 1).
By way of introduction, the land is formed of arable at the time of writing, two fields would become the solar farm. These proposals are hereafter referred to as the Proposed Development Area (PDA) and/or the inner study area. In summary, the development will provide a solar farm and ancillary structures, grid connection/s and associated access routes.
For this report the land has been assessed for its below ground archaeological potential and for its potential to indirectly affect above ground heritage (setting). In terms of archaeology, the assessment has had several stages, and in accordance with relevant government planning policy and guidance, this began with assembling baseline information. Research was led by a review of the Historic Environment Record (HER) Data and analysis of other published and readily available material. This was in order to clarify the archaeological potential of the land. A Site visit was then undertaken in order to augment that process. Production of a baseline was followed by additional archaeological data-gathering via geophysical survey and trial trenching. In these ways the potential direct impact of the proposals is well informed. The proposal is for a solar farm. The application area is 26.3ha in size. That part of it where panels are proposed is 18.7ha and the solar farm would be centred at NGR SO 83846 22576, c. 0.7km to the northwest of Twigworth and c. 1.3km southeast of Sandhurst (Figure 1).
By way of introduction, the land is formed of arable at the time of writing, two fields would become the solar farm. These proposals are hereafter referred to as the Proposed Development Area (PDA) and/or the inner study area. In summary, the development will provide a solar farm and ancillary structures, grid connection/s and associated access routes.
For this report the land has been assessed for its below ground archaeological potential and for its potential to indirectly affect above ground heritage (setting). In terms of archaeology, the assessment has had several stages, and in accordance with relevant government planning policy and guidance, this began with assembling baseline information. Research was led by a review of the Historic Environment Record (HER) Data and analysis of other published and readily available material. This was in order to clarify the archaeological potential of the land. A Site visit was then undertaken in order to augment that process. Production of a baseline was followed by additional archaeological data-gathering via geophysical survey and trial trenching. In these ways the potential direct impact of the proposals is well informed.
This combination of information was taken into account in the production of the Impact Assessment. The desk-based assessment and geophysical survey have revealed that the site has undergone change in the Post-Medieval and Modern periods as internal field boundaries have been amalgamated. The geophysical survey detected Medieval to Post-Medieval ridge and furrow cultivation across a large portion of the survey area, with a greater extent than previously recognised by the Gloucestershire HER (Figure 7). We note specifically this wording on HER record 101840 “the ridge and furrow appears to be a mixture of later post-medieval straight and narrow cultivation and earlier medieval curving ridge and furrow.” 101840 is a polygon lying partly within the PDA and the geophysical survey has recorded detailed information which will augment that record. |
| Author: |
Joe Abrams
|
| Publisher: |
Abrams Archaeology Ltd
|
| Year of Publication: |
2022
|
| Locations: |
| County: |
Gloucestershire |
| District: |
Tewkesbury |
| Parish: |
Sandhurst |
| Country: |
England |
|
Grid Reference: 383845, 222575 (Easting, Northing)
|
|
| Subjects / Periods: |
|
| Identifiers: |
| OASIS Id: |
abramsar2-511996 |
| Report id: |
126 |
|
| Source: |
|
| Relations: |
|
| Created Date: |
09 Jan 2023 |
