Agenda item

·       Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society

·       Conservation Board for the Chilterns AONB

·       Buckinghamshire Conservation Trust

·       Archaeological Officer – Buckinghamshire

·       Archaeological Officer – Milton Keynes

·       Heritage Officer- Buckinghamshire

·       Heritage Officer- Milton Keynes

·       Historic England

·       National Trust

·       Milton Keynes Heritage Association

·       Museums

·       Oxford Diocesan Advisory Committee

Members and partners provided verbal updates.

Gary Marshall, Buckinghamshire Archaeology Society.

• Volume 63 of the Bucks Archaeology Journal will be issued at the May AGM.  The records have been produced for the past 150 years.

• The project to scan and digitalise old editions of records from Bucks was ongoing. A grant was received from the HS2 community fund to assist with the project which would make records accessible online.
• The society had taken part in digging at Great Linford. A Parks Trust project which was in its third year to redisplay landscape at the manor house. The archaeology team were examining the line of the ha-ha and the project was expected to finish soon.
• S106 funds were available for Stanton Low and the Parks Trust country park to the north of the housing development and area of nature reserve. The landscape garden was from the late medieval period.
• The Local History Network Conference would take place later this year with a range of speakers attending. The topic will be the Local Heritage List.
• Membership to the Buckinghamshire Archaeology Society remained at a steady level despite a small increase in the membership fee. 

Phil Markham, Senior Archaeology Officer, Buckinghamshire Council presented a report appended to these minutes.

• The majority of HS2 fieldwork has been completed with remaining assessments to take place over the next few years.
• Discussions were ongoing with HS2 and EKFB regarding the design and methodology for Grim’s Ditch. A meeting would take place soon and Buckinghamshire Council will inform on the archaeological survey of the site. Works to the monument will be undertaken by a Schedule 19 application which will need to be approved by the Secretary of State under Historic England’s guidance.
• The team were dealing with Schedule 17 applications and there were twenty-four post excavation assessments which would require comment from the team.
• The team were also working on applications from large developments, South-East Aylesbury link road, the Hampden fields evaluation, new trial trenches to inform excavations and solar farm applications. Discussions were ongoing with the former applicant at West End Farm Buckingham regarding post excavation works and DNA testing on eighty bodies found in the burial site.
• The team were assisting with supplementary planning documents for the Aylesbury Garden Town proposals. The HER (historic environment records) committee had produced a large number of searches. The team were also working on the local heritage list and outreach events.

A member queried if solar farm applicants were advised an archaeology survey was required before development could commence. It was highlighted the Archaeology department was often consulted and any excavation works or archaeological evaluations would be completed before the planning application was submitted.

Nick Crank, Archaeological Officer, Milton Keynes Council:

• The Local Heritage At Risk Register had been updated with the latest version available online Heritage at risk | Milton Keynes City Council (milton-keynes.gov.uk)
• A conservation review was underway of twenty-seven conservation areas; sixteen areas had been assessed.
• The New Town Heritage Register project was underway and will focus on Milton Keynes new city. The consultation period had finished and communications were ongoing with commercial property owners in the city. In May the first 160 nominations would be examined by the selection panel whilst taking into consideration any representations received during the consultation period. The start of the list would be completed by June taking into account the first tranche of nominations.
• A full audit of the historic environment records was completed in 2021 and an enhancement of the national mapping programme was underway to combine records into HER (historic environment records).
• In regards to community and outreach work the Milton Keynes Archaeology day would be held on November 4^th at the central library with further details to follow. The department was successfully working with Bucks Archaeology Society on a number of projects.
• Work was underway on Bury Field Common with Newport Pagnell community archaeology project on civil war defences.
• The team were involved in fieldwork on the east urban extension north side of Olney. There were similarities with the Fleet Marston roadside Roman settlement. The site of the proposed Aldi supermarket revealed three rooms and wall foundations of a Roman villa with an intricate mosaic. The area would be preserved in-situ meaning the building area would be outlined with the development built on top. It was noted the mosaic pattern was similar to others around the country.

Eliza Alqassar, Historic and Build Environment Manager, Buckinghamshire Council:

• There were 771 sites adopted to the local heritage list in January. There were over 3000 nominations for consideration with the next tranche of sites adopted to the list by November 2023.
• The team had been working on a number of projects including a public enquiry for the new Grendon Prison site. New staff had been appointed to the team to assist with any outstanding queries. The review of conservation areas would commence shortly with the local plan team assessing urban areas first.

Members highlighted queries had been received from residents regarding the local heritage list and implications for obtaining mortgages or planning permission. It was highlighted properties added to the local heritage list did not impose restrictions on buildings and would not be a defining factor for planning officers when considering further applications. FAQs were available online Frequently asked questions - Buckinghamshire's Local Heritage List (local-heritage-list.org.uk) and property owners with any concerns were encouraged to contact the heritage team.