Draft Regulation 18 Sandwell Local Plan
Archaeology
4.129 Archaeological assets provide important evidence of earlier human activity within the borough. They are particularly sensitive to damage from development and understanding of their significance may change as development takes place.
Policy SHE4 - Archaeology
- Development should safeguard both designated and non-designated archaeological assets and the character and setting of areas of acknowledged archaeological significance.
- In considering proposals for development, Sandwell Council will seek to ensure that designated archaeological assets are preserved in situ, avoiding loss or harm to their significance, and their settings are also conserved and enhanced, to fully understand and utilise their archaeological, recreational and educational value.
- Development proposals that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on designated archaeological assets and their settings that cannot be avoided, or where the asset cannot be conserved in situ, will be resisted.
- Non-designated archaeological assets must be conserved wherever possible. Where it would be unreasonable to withhold planning permission for the development of such sites, provision will be made through agreements and conditions of planning permissions for an appropriate level of archaeological evaluation and recording to be undertaken, prior to impact on or loss of the asset. Evaluations / recordings will be included within Sandwell's Historic Environment Record.
- For sites with known archaeological potential, Sandwell Council may require developers to provide archaeological assessments and / or field evaluation to support their proposals. This information will be used to assess the archaeological implications of the development and to identify requirements for archaeological preservation or investigation.
Justification
4.130 Sandwell's heritage assets of archaeological interest include six Scheduled Monuments. Further locations within the borough have known archaeological potential.
4.131 Scheduled monuments in Sandwell include the following:
- Chances Glassworks, Smethwick
- Engine Arm Aqueduct, Warley
- Remains of the Boulton and Watt Soho foundry and mint, Birmingham Canal, Smethwick
- Sandwell Priory, a Benedictine monastery
- Smeaton's Summit Bridge
- Smethwick Engine House
4.132 Sandwell's archaeological heritage is a vital component of its historic environment comprising sites, buildings and structures. All archaeological remains potentially hold the key to a better understanding of the borough's past.
4.133 Sandwell has identified several areas of archaeological importance to date; when new development is proposed within these areas an archaeological desk-based assessment should accompany the planning application. A record of all Sandwell's known archaeological sites is kept on the Historic Environment Record (HER).
4.134 Desk-based assessment should include the results of the HER, information taken from the Heritage List for England, and any other relevant sources. It should examine and define the likelihood of encountering archaeological finds or features of all periods on the site during development works, and identify the need for and scope of, any further evaluation that might be necessary.