13. historic landscape/archaeology 13.1 introduction and ... 2/es chapt… · 4339/1/arm harmers...

4339/1/ARM Harmers Limited November 2014

Environmental Statement

Glamorgan Power -233- Varteg Hill

13.

HISTORIC LANDSCAPE/ARCHAEOLOGY

13.1 Introduction and Scope of Study

13.1.1 This historic environment assessment has been researched and prepared by Philip Bethell of CgMs Consulting for Harmers Ltd., on behalf of Glamorgan Power Ltd.

13.1.2 The assessment considers land at Varteg Hill, Varteg Road, Pontypool, Torfaen (Fig. 1). The proposed development area (hereafter referred to as the PDA) is centred at NGR SO 26170 06080, and is approximately 60ha in extent. The PDA is the subject of a planning application to Torfaen County Borough Council, (ref. 14/P/00290), for the reclamation of coal from the site.

13.1.3 In accordance with Welsh Government policy on archaeology and planning

(Chapter 6 of Planning Policy Wales), and the adopted ‘Torfaen Local Development Plan to 2021’, this assessment draws together the available archaeological, topographic and land-use information in order to clarify the archaeological potential of the PDA.

13.1.4 Planning policy (see below) requires that an appropriate assessment should be

carried out to assess and identify the archaeological resource, the setting on any statutorily protected landscapes or features, and propose any further mitigation necessary.

13.1.5 Further detail of scope was given in written responses by advisors to the local

planning authority. This detail was clarified by discussions with the council advisors. The resulting guidance on the scope of this study is as follows:

Judith Doyle, Acting Planning Manager for Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust: Supported the updating of the previous desk-based assessment and stated that the impact on the archaeological resource needs to be measured, and the impact on the Blaenavon World Heritage Site needs to be addressed (written response TOR0112/JBHD 9th June 2014, discussion on site 28th August 2014).

Stephen Peel, Senior Building Conservation Officer, Torfaen County Borough Council: Comments were restricted to issues relevant to an EIA screening opinion, but centred on the need to assess impacts on the upper part of the Varteg Incline and the associated tramways and railway track layouts which are likely to be destroyed by the development. This may have an impact on the significance of the World Heritage Site. Potential impacts on the interaction between the PDA and the Cwmavon Conservation Area also need to be assessed. Potential impacts on the significance of the listed




building Carlo’s Grave also need to be assessed (written response to Norman Jones, Torfaen County Borough Council, 23rd June 2014; discussion by telephone 3rd September 2014). Neil Maylan, Cadw (seconded from GGAT): Concurred in general that the impacts on the World Heritage Site need to be addressed. Agreed that an ASIDOHL2 assessment of the impacts was not required (discussion by telephone 28th August 2014). Adele Davies, Cadw: Supported the review and updating of the DBA. Also noted the need to consider impacts on the registered historic landscape and the World Heritage Site. Specifically noted that the Varteg Hill Colliery Incline Catch Pit has been determined to be of national importance, and has been recommended for scheduling as monument MM354. This asset needs to be assessed (written response to Norman Jones, Torfaen County Borough Council, 19th June 2014).

13.1.6 Accordingly, this study has focussed on the issues highlighted above. The report has sought to combine assessment of the impacts on the archaeological interest on the site, with assessment on the settings of built heritage and landscape assets, in order to give an overall picture of the potential impact on the historic environment as a whole.

13.1.7 In line with the IfA Standard and Guidance for Historic Environment Desk-

Based Assessment (IfA 2012), the assessment includes the results of a site inspection, an examination of published and unpublished records, and charts historic land-use through a map regression exercise.

13.1.8 The study has been restricted to a 1km radius beyond the limit of the PDA.

This has been selected in the interests of clarity and brevity. The proximity of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site (BILWHS) and the Blaenavon Registered Landscape of Outstanding Historical Interest mean that any impact arising on these assets will be felt within 1km of the PDA, and it is therefore considered that assessment of impacts beyond this radius is not necessary.

13.1.9 As a result, the assessment enables relevant parties to assess the significance of

heritage/archaeological assets on and close to the PDA and assesses the potential for hitherto undiscovered archaeological assets, thus enabling potential impacts on assets to be identified along with the need for design, civil engineering or archaeological solutions. It also assesses the nature and scale of impacts on the settings of assets that are not directly impacted by the development.




13.2 Relevant Statutory and Planning Policy Framework

Ancient Monuments & Archaeological Areas Act 1979

13.2.1 The Ancient Monuments & Archaeological Areas Act 1979 (as amended) protects the fabric of Scheduled Monuments, but does not afford statutory protection to their settings. Relevant policies relating to the protection of the setting of scheduled monuments are contained within national and local development plan policy. Current best-practice guidance for assessing and managing change within the setting of heritage assets has been published by English Heritage in ‘The Setting of Heritage Assets’ (English Heritage 2011).

Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) (Wales) Regulations 2012

13.2.2 The Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 sets out

policies relevant to the protection of listed buildings and conservation areas and their setting. The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Wales) Regulations 2012 has updated the mechanisms for implementation of the 1990 UK Act in the Welsh context, without altering the main provisions of the Act.

13.2.3 The following sections of the main Act are relevant to the site:

• Section 66(1) states: ‘In considering whether to grant planning permission

for development which affects a listed building or its setting, the local planning authority or, as the case may be, the Secretary of State shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses’.

• Section 69 of the Act requires local authorities to define as conservation areas any ‘areas of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’ and Section 72 gives local authorities a general duty to pay special attention ‘to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of that area’ in exercising their planning functions. These duties are interpreted as requiring local authorities to consider the settings of buildings within the conservation area and the setting of the conservation area itself.




Policy Background

World Heritage Convention

The UK is a signatory to the World Heritage Convention, published by UNESCO in 1972. The Convention underpins the use of the World Heritage Site designation to recognise the international importance of sites of cultural and natural heritage. While designation as a World Heritage Site is not a statutory protection in its own right, it is a material consideration within the planning process. Planning Policy Wales

The Welsh Government has published Planning Policy Wales (PPW), currently updated to Version 7 from July 2014. This sets out the land use planning policies of the Welsh Government. It is supplemented by a series of Technical Advice Notes (TANs). Procedural advice is given in circulars and policy clarification letters.

13.2.6 Chapter 6 of the PPW, entitled ‘Conserving the Historic Environment’,

provides policy for planning authorities, property owners, developers and others on the conservation and investigation of heritage assets. Overall, the objectives of Chapter 6 can be summarised as seeking to:

• preserve or enhance the historic environment, recognising its contribution to economic vitality and culture, civic pride and the quality of life, and its importance as a resource for future generations; and specifically to • protect archaeological remains, which are a finite and non-renewable resource, part of the historical and cultural identity of Wales, and valuable both for their own sake and for their role in education, leisure and the economy, particularly tourism;

• ensure that the character of historic buildings is safeguarded from alterations, extensions or demolition that would compromise a building’s special architectural and historic interest; and to

• ensure that conservation areas are protected or enhanced, while at the same time remaining alive and prosperous, avoiding unnecessarily detailed controls over businesses and householders.

13.2.7 Chapter 6 of PPW does not define the historic environment beyond stating that

it encompasses archaeology and ancient monuments, listed buildings, conservation areas and historic parks, gardens and landscapes.

13.2.4

13.2.5




13.2.8 There is no specific TAN for the historic environment, but several Welsh Office Circular Orders pertain to the historic environment:

• Welsh Office Circular 61/96 Planning and the Historic Environment:

Historic Buildings and Conservation Areas. • Welsh Office Circular 60/96 Planning and the Historic Environment:

Archaeology. • Welsh Office Circular 1/98 Planning and the Historic Environment:

Directions by the Secretary of State for Wales.

13.2.9 Another important source of guidance on assessing the impact of developments on the historic landscape is the ‘Guide to Good Practice on Using the Register of Landscapes of Historic Interest in Wales in the Planning and Development Process, (Revised Edition 2007)’.

13.2.10 The ‘Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance for the Sustainable

Management of the Historic Environment in Wales’ published by Cadw in March 2011 also provide useful guidance. The six principles expressed are:

• Historic assets will be managed to sustain their values. • Understanding the significance of historic assets is vital. • The historic environment is a shared resource. • Everyone will be able to participate in sustaining the historic environment. • Decisions about change must be reasonable, transparent and consistent. • Documenting and learning from decisions is essential.

13.2.11 Welsh planning legislation and policy guidance outlines that the desirability of

preserving archaeological remains and their setting is a material consideration in the determination of a planning application (Planning Policy Wales, Chapter 6, Para. 6.5.1). In order to take into account archaeological considerations and deal with them from the beginning of the development control process Local Planning Authorities in Wales need to be fully informed about the nature and importance of archaeological remains, and their setting, and the likely impact of any proposed development upon them (WO Circular 60/96 Para. 10 and Para.15).

13.2.12 This means that Local Planning Authorities can request an applicant to provide further information on archaeological matters (WO Circular 60/96, Para. 15).




13.2.13 In considering any planning application for development, the planning authority will be mindful of the framework set by government policy, in this instance PPW, by current Local Development Plan Policy and by other material considerations.

13.2.14 Local Planning Policy

The local plan framework is provided by Torfaen County Borough Council,

and the Local Development Plan (LDP) was adopted in December 2013, to cover the period up to 2021.

13.2.15 The LDP contains the following strategic objective relating to the historic

environment:

LDP OBJECTIVE 7 – To conserve and enhance the distinctive cultural

and historical resources of the County Borough.

13.2.16 Chapter 5 of the LDP, ‘Strategic Policies’, contains the following policies relating to the historic environment within the county borough, which are relevant to this assessment:

S7 Conservation of the Natural and Historic Environment Development proposals should seek to ensure the conservation and enhancement of the Natural, Built & Historic Environment of Torfaen, in particular: - a) Biodiversity resources; b) Geodiversity resources; c) Water environment; d) Landscape setting; e) Character of the built environment; and f) Historic assets.

13.2.17 The Local Development Plan contains Borough Wide policies relevant to this

assessment:

BW1 General Policy - Development Proposals All development proposals will be considered favorably providing they comply with the following criteria where they are applicable: C Built Environment

13.2.14




i) The proposal contributes to the preservation and enhancement of the historic built environment wherever possible (including heritage assets and their settings); ii) The proposal does not detrimentally affect the character of the immediate and surrounding built environment; and iii) Where practicable, existing construction materials on the site are re-used or recycled.

13.2.18 There are other topic-based policies within the LDP which refer to the historic

environment:

C2 Special Landscape Areas (SLA’s) Special Landscape Areas are identified at the following locations: - C2/1 - Llandegfedd Reservoir; C2/2 - South Eastern Lowlands; C2/3 - Southern Lowlands; C2/4 - South West Uplands; C2/5 - Blaenavon Heritage Landscape; C2/6 - Eastern Uplands; C2/7 - Afon Lwyd Valley; and C2/8 - Western Uplands. In order to ensure the continued protection and enhancement of the defined SLA’s development proposals that could impact on these designations will be expected to conform to high standards of design and environmental protection which is appropriate to the LANDMAP character of the area. HE1 Buildings and Structures of Local Importance: Development proposals affecting buildings and structures of local importance which make a valuable contribution to the character and interest of the local area will not be permitted where the distinctive appearance, architectural integrity or their settings would be significantly adversely affected, unless the benefits of the proposal would outweigh such adverse effects. HE2 Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site (BILWHS): Development proposals within, and adjacent to the BILWHS will only be permitted where it can be demonstrated that: - a) The proposal promotes a standard of design in terms of siting, scale, massing and materials, which is sympathetic to and preserves or enhances the character of the local area and settlement form; and




b) Important views into and within the BILWHS are not adversely affected by the proposals; and c) The proposal contributes to ensuring the preservation of the ‘Outstanding Universal Value’ of the BILWHS designation; and d) The proposal would not adversely affect the overall integrity of the BILWHS and its landscape or historic setting. All development proposals within and adjacent to the World Heritage Site should be informed by the BILWHS Design Guidance and should identify how the proposals are consistent with the principles in this document.

13.2.19 The BILWHS Management Plan 2011-2016 (2011) states that:0

‘The Outstanding Universal Value of the site is a key material consideration to be taken into account by local planning authorities in determining planning applications and Listed Building Consent applications, and by the Secretary of State in determining cases on appeal and following call in.’

13.2.20 This assessment therefore seeks to establish whether the proposed coal

reclamation development will have a significant effect on the historic environment, either through direct impacts on below-ground archaeological remains, or indirect effects on designated heritage assets, within the scope of policies contained within PPW, and the adopted ‘Torfaen Local Development Plan’.

13.2.21 Definitions and Guidance

Definition of the historic environment

13 There is no single agreed definition of the historic environment or its

components. For the purposes of this assessment, useful definitions are found in the Cadw ‘Conservation Principles for the sustainable management of the historic environment in Wales’ (March 2011).

14 In this document the historic environment is defined as: all aspects of the

environment resulting from the interaction between people and places through time, including all surviving physical remains of past human activity, whether visible, buried, or submerged, and deliberately planted or managed (Cadw 2011). Heritage assets

15 Heritage assets are defined as:

13.2.22 13.2.23 13.2.24




• An identifiable component of the historic environment. It may consist of or be a combination of an archaeological site, an historic building, or a parcel of historic landscape. Nationally important historic assets will normally be designated (Cadw 2011)

16 A useful additional definition is contained within the National Planning Policy

Framework for England (2012), which defines ‘Archaeological Interest’ as a heritage asset which holds or potentially could hold, evidence of past human activity worthy of expert investigation at some point. Heritage assets with archaeological interest are the primary source of evidence about the substance and evolution of places, and of the people and cultures that made them’.

17 A Designated Heritage Asset is considered to be a: World Heritage Site,

Scheduled Monument, Listed Building, Protected Wreck Site, Registered Park and Garden, Registered Battlefield or Conservation Area. In Wales areas of landscape have been designated and included in the non-statutory Register of Landscapes of Historic Interest in Wales.

Significance

18 Significance in relation to heritage policy considerations is defined as:

• The sum of the cultural heritage values (Cadw 2011).

19 The ‘Guide to Good Practice on Using the Register of Landscapes of Historic Interest in Wales in the Planning and Development Process, (Revised Edition 2007)’ defines Categories A – U which are used to place historic environment assets in order of relative importance. These terms are used in this report (see below).

Setting

20 There is as yet (September 2014) no specific guidance published in Wales relating to the assessment of the impact of development on the settings of historic environment assets, although Welsh policy makes it clear that setting must be considered in any assessment of the historic environment (PPW 6.4.2, 6.5.1). The Setting of Heritage Assets (English Heritage, 2011) is regarded as an industry standard which can be applied across the UK, pending the publication of guidance specific to Wales, currently in preparation. It sets out guidance on the management of change within the settings of heritage assets. Key to this document is that the protection of the setting of heritage assets need not prevent change but the impact of change needs to be properly assessed. In summary, the key points from the guidance are:

• Setting is the surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced.

Elements of the setting may make a positive, negative or neutral contribution to the significance of an asset.

• Setting is often described in visual terms but it can include other factors such as noise, smell, dust and historic associations between heritage assets.

13.2.25 13.2.26 13.2.27 13.2.28 13.2.29 13.2.30




• Setting is usually more extensive than curtilage, and is distinct from historic character and context.

• Setting exists irrespective of public access. • The setting of heritage assets change over time. Where the surroundings

of a heritage asset are relatively unaltered from when the asset was first constructed/used, the contribution of the setting to the significance is likely to be higher than where the setting has been subject to high levels of change from its original state. However, the process of change can enhance the significance of a heritage asset.

21 The guidance sets out a five staged process for assessing the implications of proposed developments on setting, of which Stages 1 and 2 are used in the identification and assessment of a heritage baseline:

1. Identification of heritage assets which are likely to be affected by proposals – The guidance states that if development is capable of affecting the contribution of a heritage asset’s setting to its significance, or the appreciation of its significance, it can be considered as falling within the asset’s setting. Importantly, it is made clear that an impact on setting does not necessarily equate to harm to the asset, and may be positive or neutral. This judgement of impact instead depends upon a detailed understanding of the individual heritage asset’s significance, of which setting may form a greater or lesser part.

2. Assessment of whether and what contribution setting makes to the significance of a heritage asset – This depends upon an understanding of the history and development of the site, utilising historic mapping where possible. This assessment should also be informed by the physical surroundings of the asset, including its relationship with other heritage assets, the way in which the asset is experienced and the asset’s associations and patterns of use. All this information will provide a baseline for establishing the effects of a proposed development on the significance of a heritage asset.

3. Assessing the effects of proposed development on the significance of a heritage asset – With the baseline information gathered at Stage 2 it will be possible to identify a range of effects a proposed development may have on the setting of a heritage asset, which will be evaluated as beneficial, neutral or harmful to the significance of the heritage asset. The location and siting, form and appearance, permanence and any other effects of proposals will all inform the assessment process.

4. Maximising enhancement and reduction of harm on the setting of heritage assets – Measures to reduce harm could include relocation of all or parts of a development, changes to the layout, screening, etc. Where harm cannot be eliminated, design quality of the proposed development may be one of the main factors in assessing the balance of harm and benefit.

13.2.31




5. The final decision about the acceptability of proposals – This will depend on the range of circumstances that apply to a heritage asset and the relative sensitivity to change. Decisions are therefore made on a case by case basis, recognising that all heritage assets are not of equal importance and the contribution made by their setting to their significance also varies.

22 This assessment considers Stages 1 to 3 for each asset or group of assets. Following this, Stage 4 will be considered for those assets where there is a potentially significant affect on their settings.

World Heritage Sites - Assessment

23 The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) has published

guidance on the assessing the impacts of development on cultural world heritage properties (ICOMOS 2011). This guidance is designed to assist with the effective evaluation of the impact of potential development on the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage Sites.

13.3 Geology and Topography

Geology 13.3.1 The underlying solid geology of the PDA comprises Carboniferous mudstones,

siltstones and sandstones of the South Wales Middle and Lower Coal Measures. (BGS online geology viewer).

13.3.2 No superficial deposits are recorded.

Ground Investigations

13.3.4 Boreholes and trial pits dug across the PDA have shown made ground in most

cases. This made ground principally comprises colliery spoil. The thickness of the made ground varies from 0.2m to a maximum of 3.8m in the trial pits. A borehole into one of the colliery spoil tips revealed a 16m depth of made ground (Faber Maunsell 2006)

Topography

13.3.5 The PDA lies at the south-eastern end of a mountain ridge. Mynydd Varteg

Fach lies at the end of this ridge, and is the hill around which the PDA lies. To the north west, the land rises to Mynydd Varteg Fawr, with a peak height of 544m AOD approximately 750m from the PDA boundary. Coity Mountain forms the continuation of this ridge to the north-west.

13.3.6 The wider landscape is dominated by the steep-sided Afon Lwyd valley, which

sweeps round from Blaenavon to the north-west, and runs north to south in the area of the PDA. The high, bare hills on either side of the valley separate it from Ebbw Vale to the west, and the Usk valley to the east. The landscape

13.2.32 13.2.33




around the PDA is enclosed by steep hills to west, north and east, and has an open aspect only to the south.

13.3.7 The PDA is irregular in shape, and occupies a valley-side location. It falls

roughly into two parts, linked at their southern ends. On the east side, the PDA slopes downwards from west to east, from approximately 400m AOD to 345m AOD. It also slopes downwards from north to south, from approximately 370m AOD to 355m AOD. Within this area there are variations caused by the presence of large spoil heaps. In general, the surface of the eastern part of the PDA is uneven as a result of the earlier industrial workings.

13.3.8 The western part of the PDA has a generally more even surface, and occupies

a shallow concave cwm, with a general downward slope from north to south (420m AOD to 400m AOD). Across the centre of the cwm, the land is at approximately 420m AOD on the east and west sides, but approximately 410m AOD in the centre.

13.4 Archaeology and Historical Background Including Assessment of

Significance

Timescales used in this report: Prehistoric

Palaeolithic c. 800,000 - 10,000 BC Mesolithic c. 10,000 - 4,400 BC Neolithic c. 4,400 - 2,300 BC Bronze Age c. 2,300 - 700 BC Iron Age c. 700 - AD 43

Historic

Roman Period AD 43 - AD 410 Post-Roman/Early Medieval Period AD 410 - AD 1066 Medieval Period AD 1066 - AD 1536 Post Medieval Period AD 1536 - AD 1750 Industrial AD 1750 - AD 1899 Modern 20th century onwards

13.4.6 Introduction and methodology

13.4.2 This assessment is based on a consideration of evidence in the Historic

Environment Record (HER) curated by the Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust (GGAT), and the National Monuments Record for Wales (NMR) for the PDA, and a zone 1km in extent around its boundary (the study area).

13.4.2 Informal discussions were also held with Judith Doyle, Acting Archaeological

Planning Manager at GGAT, with reference to the PDA and its archaeological potential, and possible requirements for mitigation.

13.4.3

13.4.1




13.4.2 Archaeological data from the 1km radius area around the PDA has been

reviewed to produce a predictive model of the PDA’s potential for the presence of additional, as-yet undiscovered below-ground archaeological features. Heritage assets are considered in the relevant sections below and are identified as either HER or NMR depending on the data source followed by the unique reference number. Plans showing the location of data mentioned in the text can be found in Appendices 1a – 1f.

13.4.2 This section reviews existing archaeological evidence for the PDA, and the

archaeological/historical background of the general area, and, in accordance with the policy background outlined above, considers the potential for as yet undiscovered archaeological evidence within the PDA. Section 6 subsequently considers the site conditions of the PDA and whether the theoretical potential identified in this chapter is likely to survive. Designated heritage assets and the potential impact of the proposed development upon their significance are considered in Section 5.

13.4.6 Previous Archaeological Investigations

13.4.7 No intrusive archaeological interventions have been recorded within the PDA

or within the wider study area..

13.4.8 The site lies partly within the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site (BILWHS). This has been the subject of considerable research, summarised in the ‘Blaenavon World Heritage Site Management Plan 2011-2016’ (2011); and the original Nomination document ‘Nomination of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape for Inclusion in the World Heritage List’; and its accompanying Management Plan (1999).

13.4.9 The PDA lies within the area covered by the South East Wales Industrial

Ironworks Landscapes project, undertaken by GGAT on behalf of Cadw (HER E000037). This project was primarily a desk-based exercise to record vestiges of historic metalworking activity and associated mining activity across a wide area. The project used historic maps and other evidence to identify a number of hitherto-unrecorded heritage assets. Those within the PDA are mainly associated with the coal and ironstone extraction that took place on the site in the 19th century. These assets are mainly trackways/routeways related to the transport infrastructure of the mine, relict buildings, and mining work areas (GGAT 2005).

13.4.10 The PDA was also the subject of a previous desk-based assessment (CgMs

2004).

13.4.11 An adjacent site of 1.9ha in area, off Varteg Road, was the subject of a planning application for housing in 2010. An archaeological desk-based assessment was carried out for this site (CgMs 2010), which included the PDA within its 1km search area. In addition, an Environmental Statement was

13.4.4 13.4.5




submitted which included an assessment of the potential effects of the development on the significance of the historic landscape (Harmer 2010).

13.4.12 The PDA is adjacent to the Blaenavon Registered Historic Landscape of

Outstanding Historic Interest. HER mapping of this landscape area (see Appendix 1) places its boundary 300m north of the PDA, and the PDA therefore is not considered to lie within the mapped extent of the Registered Historic Landscape.

13.4.13 Historic Landscape Characterisation Assessment has been undertaken for the

Blaenavon Registered Historic Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest, but the boundaries of the assessed area and the Registered Landscape are not contiguous. Detailed mapping on the Historic Landscape pages of the GGAT website indicates that the PDA is lies partly within one Historic Landscape Character Area (HLCA):

• HCLA019 Mynydd Varteg Opencast

13.4.14 Three other HCLAs lie partly within the 1km study area:

• HCLA017 Mynydd y Garn-fawr • HCLA018 Cwmavon Industrial Transport Corridor • HCLA020 Coity Mountain

13.4.15 The findings of the above investigations are used to inform the text below, as

appropriate.

13.4.6 Prehistoric - Palaeolithic-Iron Age 13.4.16 The GGAT HER and RCAHMW contain no records relating to any known

activity dating to this period within the PDA. Although it is acknowledged that Neolithic and Bronze Age funerary/ritual monuments are known across the adjacent upland areas of Mynydd y Garn-fawr (HLCA 017) and Coity Mountain (HLCA 020), no such monument or settlement activity is known with 1km of the study site. It is likely that during this period the study site remained an area of woodland situated along the Afon Lwyd valley.

13.4.17 Palaeolithic (c. 800,000 BC – c, 10,000 BC): Remains from this remote period

are nationally rare, and in Wales are largely confined to cave deposits from North Wales and the Gower coast. Human and animal bones have been found from interglacial periods, although much of the landscape detail from these interglacials has been scoured and removed by subsequent glacial activity, which ended about 10,000 BC with the most recent retreat of the ice caps. Although there is some survival of river terrace gravels and glacial meltwash deposits from beyond the glacier limit in South Wales, these are not present around Blaenavon, and there is very little likelihood of encountering any material of this age in the area.




13.4.18 Mesolithic (c. 10,000 BC – c. 4,400 BC): During this period settlement evidence showing exploitation of a wide range of natural resources appears in the archaeological record. Mesolithic finds have generally been confined to the coastal regions of Wales, but more artefacts have been recovered in recent years from the Black Mountains. A small amount of flint tools has been recovered in the Blaenau upland area, but no direct evidence of settlement. There is very little likelihood of encountering Mesolithic material on the site, and no sites from the period are present in the wider area.

13.4.19 Neolithic (c. 4,000 – c. 2,000 BC): Evidence has been recovered in South

Wales for food production in the form of domesticated animals and cereal crops. The evidence from the Blaenavon area is limited to isolated finds of stone tools, and it is suggested that the uplands around Blaenavon were used for seasonal activities such as hunting which left no settlement evidence. There is therefore very little probability of finding any material from this period within the PDA.

13.4.20 Bronze Age (c. 2,700 – c. 700 BC): The development of copper and later

bronze technology was the defining characteristic of this period, which also saw the introduction of new types of monument such as round barrows and standing stones. Pollen evidence shows that the scale of land-clearance increased during this period. In the Blaenavon landscape, the most notable Bronze Age features are round barrows sited on prominent ridges. To the north of the town, several barrows are visible as stone cairns on the Blorenge and Mynnydd-y-garn-fawr, including the nearly-intact Carn-y-Defaid round barrow. A Bronze Age standing stone (Carreg Maen Taro) is present on the ridge of Llanelly Hill, 5.3 km to the north-west. No settlement of the period has yet been discovered in the area, and the finds are few and widely distributed. It is therefore very unlikely that any unknown material of this period will be encountered within the PDA.

13.4.21 Iron Age (c. 700 BC – c. AD 43: The first major impact of human settlement

on the physical environment of South Wales dates from this period. The appearance of a more clearly hierarchical society, with substantial monuments and defensive structures such as hillforts typified this period, allied to an increase in settlement density and accelerated land clearance. The development of iron metallurgy was another defining characteristic. Iron Age society was described by contemporary classical authors, and is thought to have been based on a series of tribal kingdoms linked by kinship and controlling a defined territory, at least by the time of the Roman invasion.

13.4.22 Although hillforts are common in south-east Wales, they are absent from the

Historic Landscape area immediately around Blaenavon, the nearest being Tywyn-y-Dinas and Craig-y-Gaer, dominating the Clydach gorge 7.2km to the north-west. Within the Blaenavon historic landscape area there is little evidence of Iron Age activity in the form of settlement or defensive structures, although much may have been removed by the later intensive industrial




activity. There is very little chance of encountering any Iron Age material within the PDA.

13.4.23 As a result of the above, a low potential for archaeological activity dating to

the Prehistoric period is identified.

Roman

13.4.24 As with the Prehistoric period, the GGAT HER and RCAHMW database contain no records relating to Roman activity within the PDA or the surrounding 1km radius.

13.4.25 The Roman invasion pushed into South Wales around 50 AD, and frontier

lines were established at various points, notably along the Wye, and later the Usk, which lies in the next valley to the east of Blaenavon. A fortress was established at Usk, and a fort at Abergavenny. The fortress was replaced in the 70s by that at Caerleon, and the area around Blaenafon /Torfaen was largely bypassed. The main centres of recognisably Roman settlement remained to the south, and the Torfaen Borough area contains very little evidence of settlement or any other activity during the period. This is a similar pattern to the preceding Iron Age, and is perhaps a reflection of the upland nature of the area, with relatively narrow and densely wooded valleys unsuitable for agriculture. Mineral exploitation in the area may have begun in this period. There is very little chance of encountering any archaeological material from this period within the PDA.

13.4.26 Therefore a low potential for archaeological activity dating to the Roman

period is identified.

Post Roman and Early Medieval

13.4.27 The period between the departure of the Romans and the Norman invasion is one of the least well documented and understood parts of the history of Wales. The area of Varteg is no different, with the GGAT HER and RCAHMW database containing no records for this period either within or immediately surrounding the PDA. Like the preceding periods, the evidence from the Blaenavon area is very limited. In the post-Roman period, pottery production ceased in south-east Wales and coins no longer circulated. The pattern of Welsh society known from later documentary sources emerged during this period, and the division of the land between clans, with the emergence of commotes, cantrefi, and kingdoms as the major political units. There is no evidence of a settlement in the Blaenavon area during this time, and place-name evidence does not indicate the nature of land-use as in other areas.

13.4.28 It is therefore probable that the PDA remained an area of woodland or open

common and in light of this, a low potential for archaeological deposits of this period is identified.




Medieval 13.4.29 No assets from this period are recorded within the PDA.

13.4.30 Until the late Medieval period, the area around Blaenavon was primarily used

for sheep grazing, and there was very little in the way of any substantial settlement.

13.4.31 The Torfaen and Blaenavon area remained under the control of the local

Welsh Princes until the 13th century, being bypassed by the earlier advances of the Norman invaders. To the south-east, the area around modern Usk was under Norman control by the early 1090s, and Abergavenny to the north had a Norman castle by 1106. To the south, Caerleon changed hands several times before finally being settled as a Norman possession in 1217. Blaenavon lay within the “Welshry”, where traditional forms of tenure and communal activity survived the introduction of the Anglo-Norman feudal system (the “Englishry”). No urban or nucleated settlements are known from the Torfaen Borough, and the settlement pattern is of small dispersed farmsteads. The Blaenavon area remained of little strategic or economic value during this period.

13.4.32 The development of monastic orders, particularly the Cistercians from the later

12th century saw large areas of land in the area taken over by abbeys – the nearest is at Llantarnam, 17km south of the site. The pattern of monastic landholding meant that large areas of upland land was used for sheep farming, but controlled from a few isolated granges, so that there was very little density of settlement within the wider landscape. The depredations of the Black Death saw population decline in the late 14th century, and the abandonment of upland areas by the monasteries. The pattern of land tenure began to change, and as the 15th century progressed more land was rented out to smallholders and villages began to develop.

13.4.33 The first documented beginnings of the iron industry date from c.1425 with the

establishment of an ironworks in Pontymoel. The upland area around Blaenavon has revealed very little direct evidence from the Early or main Medieval periods, although documentary evidence reveals some information about the estate owners and landholdings. A pattern of dispersed unenclosed farmsteads appears to have been established by the end of the Medieval period.

13.4.34 The ruins of a late Medieval chapel are present 950m north-east of the PDA,

the site of Capel Newydd.

13.4.35 It is likely that the area changed little over this period, remaining wooded or part of an agricultural community living in dispersed farmsteads. There is no evidence of settlement at Varteg during this period. A low potential for hitherto unknown evidence from this period is therefore identified for the PDA.




Post Medieval and Modern

13.4.36 The PDA contains substantial vestiges of 19th and 20th century coal mining activity, largely now in the form of very large spoil heaps. Other surviving features include trackways, extraction sites, remains of buildings, and elements of the transport network which linked the coal mining to the rest of the industrial landscape. More recent mining activity is likely to have effectively removed or masked any earlier Post-medieval archaeological remains.

13.4.37 The Tudor period ushered in further changes, as larger estates began to be built

up by local gentry, accelerated after the dissolution of the monasteries and the selling of their lands under Henry VIII. Most of the County Borough of Torfaen was enclosed between 1550 and 1750 without formal Parliamentary approval, and there were many squatter settlements of displaced persons. The settlement landscape prior to the industrial development of Blaenavon consisted of scattered farmsteads set within their own agricultural holdings, within the ambit of large estates. The later industrial developments have masked this pattern and it has largely disappeared. Some evidence does survive of the transition from agricultural to industrial landscape in the form of smallholdings on the slopes of Coity Mountain and the Blorenge. Some buildings or traces of buildings pre-dating the 18th century survive, notably Ty’r Godwith off Charles Street in Blaenavon town where massive stone fireplaces from c.1600 are retained.

13.4.38 Ironworking developed in the general area in the 16th century, with the Glyn

Trosnant works (near Pontypool) being established in c. 1577. The ironmasters of Pontypool, particularly the Hanbury family, acquired the mineral rights over the land within the Lordship of Abergavenny, which included Blaenavon. From at least 1675 there was small-scale iron-ore extraction taking place on the mountain slopes within the Blaenavon historic landscape. The pattern of exploitation of the mineral wealth around Blaenavon, without any substantial settlement, continued until the late 18th century, when the Blaenavon Ironworks was established. A considerable tract of land around Blaenavon was leased from Lord Abergavenny, and the ironworks built in 1787-89. This was the true birth of the industrial development which shaped the landscape now preserved in the BILWHS. The scale of the construction was exceptional for the time, with three blast furnaces and a confident reliance on steam power. The hills to the north of the Ironworks were exploited for coal, limestone and iron ore. This juxtaposition of raw materials enabled the newly-developed processes of the Industrial Revolution to be applied fully, and enabled a huge increase in production of iron.

13.4.39 More furnaces were added in the early 19th century, and the whole complex of mines, surface workings, adits, transport network (canal, railways, roads) and industrial machinery developed during the rest of the century. The other major surviving site apart from the ironworks itself is Big Pit coal mine, opened in 1860. Alongside this industrial development, the town of Blaenavon grew to




house the community who lived and worked in the landscape. The growth was relatively slow, with the earlier areas of housing clustering around the Ironworks and St. Peter’s Church (1804). Most of the older town is a mid-19th century development, where the gaps between earlier housing were filled in, and new streets of speculative build brought a more ordered pattern to the town.

13.4.40 Towards the end of this period, iron production declined and coal mining took

over as the dominant industry in Blaenavon and across South Wales. Coal production reached its peak in 1913. Alongside the industrial and urban developments, much of the rest of the land remained in agricultural use, with some of the field and plot boundaries surviving to influence the block pattern of the residential developments. A series of long, narrow plots can still be seen to the north of Blaenavon, on the north side of Upper Coedcae Road running up the lower slopes of Mynnydd-y-Garn Fawr. Some pre-19th century agricultural dwellings also survive either as ruins or in much altered form in the enclosed landscape along the lower slopes of Coity Mountain, including Coity Farm and Waun-Mary-Gunter Farm.

13.4.41 Prior to the formation of the Varteg Ironworks in 1803 and the later Varteg

Hill Colliery in 1860, the landscape surrounding the PDA would have been characterised by scattered farmsteads with upland areas used for grazing. A forge was built at Cwmavon to the east of the PDA in 1804, and small-scale ironstone mining took place across the PDA. The forge was out of use by the 1840s, and the iron extraction activity within the PDA was superseded by the later coal extraction. The main Varteg ironworks lay immediately to the south of the PDA, bounded by Varteg Road on the east and a local lane on the west side.

13.4.42 The earliest detailed plan of the PDA is the 1844 Trevethin Tithe map, that

shows the PDA itself as an area of unenclosed ground. The map shows the layout of the Post-Medieval settlement of Varteg, prior to the construction of the Turnpike Road in 1847, later known as Varteg Road, situated to the east of the PDA. Varteg comprised a number of rows of terrace housing, accommodating the workers of the adjacent industries and a number of public and commercial premises. The row of cottages known as Twenty Houses was present, which has since been demolished. This lay to the north of Salisbury Terrace.

13.4.43 During the course of the 19th century, the Ironworks declined and was closed

by 1865. In contrast, the Varteg Hill Colliery was established and expanded in the early 1860s, to exploit a large area of coal accessible through open-cast mining, on the slopes of Mynydd Varteg. This area of open-cast workings ran north-east from the PDA into Waun Hoscyn, and westwards onto Mynydd Varteg Fach.

13.4.44 The 1880-82 Ordnance Survey map (Figure 2) shows the colliery centred on a

dense cluster of buildings at the upper limit of the Varteg Incline tramway




(1861), which ran due east down to the river at Cwmavon and linked the site to the Monmouthshire Railway in the valley bottom. Another incline led north (along what is now the modern track that runs up from Varteg Road past the Reservoir), linking the colliery to the London & North Western Railway. This railway ran along the valley side, between Varteg Road and the Monmouthshire Railway.

13.4.45 A complex series of trackways and tramways was present which criss-crossed

the PDA, and led out of the PDA to the west, skirting Yewtree Farm. The site of the Varteg Ironworks is labelled as ‘Old Furnaces’ on this map, and had no structures remaining on it. The houses which lay on the eastern edge of the PDA included Pembroke Place, and Twenty Houses, but not yet Salisbury Terrace.

13.4.46 By 1902 (Figs. 3 7 4), the PDA was not much altered. Some of the buildings in

the works to the north-west of the main colliery buildings (e.g. Mine Slope, Varteg Slope) were no longer in situ, but the tramway system was extended to the west across Mynydd Varteg Fach. The incline to Cwmavon was still in situ and depicted with tracks, so was presumably still functioning. The houses of Salisbury Terrace were built by then, as was the Varteg Reservoir, at the northern end of the PDA.

13.4.47 On the 1922 OS map there is little change, other than the further extension of

the tramway system to Waun Hoscyn, north-west of the PDA. This pattern remained in 1938 (Figure 5), although some areas of earlier workings (e.g. Mine Slope) appear to be no longer active. By 1953 (Figure 6), much of the connective infrastructure had disappeared – the railway and tramway links were no longer active. While most of the mineral tramways, and the main colliery buildings themselves, were shown, the general picture indicates decline. New housing was beginning to spread northwards from Garndiffaith to the south.

13.4.48 The 1964-5 map (Figs. 7 & 8) shows a marked contrast, with all of the main

colliery buildings removed, and a building known as ‘The Lighthouse’ standing where the south-west corner of the colliery complex was. The area west of Mynydd Varteg Fach, (in which the western part of the PDA lies) is depicted as ‘Opencast Workings’, with most of the earlier mining works to the north-west of the colliery centre no longer present. Spoil heaps to the south and east of The Lighthouse were more extensive than before, and again elements of the older mining landscape were buried by this dumping. Just north of the western limit of the Varteg Incline, a large pond is shown. The urban creep from the south had moved closer to Varteg village.

13.4.49 By the late 1970s (Figure 9), the railways in the Afon Lwyd valley had been

dismantled, and many of the 19th-century houses in Varteg demolished. The area across the western side of the PDA, within the area of 20th-century opencast mining, saw the valley of the Mynydd Varteg Fach re-modelled to the current topography by the end of the 1970s.




13.4.50 During the later decades of the 20th century, the existing structures declined

further, and The Lighthouse was in ruins by the early 1990s. A small area around the western limit of the Varteg Incline was worked in the 1990s as the Cwm Glo Drift Mine, but this was a short-lived enterprise.

13.4.51 By 2006 (Figure 10) the PDA was essentially as it is today, with some vestiges

of the 19th century mining works surviving in a much altered landscape dominated by the 20th century spoil heaps. The extensive remodelling and tipping activities within the PDA mean that much of the evidence for the 19th century mining has disappeared. Despite the documented history of the PDA, there is a low potential for finding any Post-Medieval to Modern remains on the site, that are not currently visible as surface features.

Summary

13.4.52 The PDA has most likely been wooded land, and latterly agricultural land,

from the earliest human settlement in the area up to the early 19th century. At this time, small-scale ironstone and coal mining began. This was superseded by more intensive coal mining and the establishment of the Varteg Hill colliery in 1860. Following the dereliction of the colliery in the early 20th century, the PDA was further affected by the deposition of large quantities of spoil from opencast mining to the north-west and west. A last episode of coal mining was undertaken within the PDA in the 1990s, at Cwm Glo Drift Mine.

13.4.53 The PDA has been assessed as having a low potential for hitherto unknown

archaeological remains from any period. This is largely due to the destructive effects of dumping of spoil from large-scale opencast mining to the north and north-west of the PDA. The western part of the PDA has been largely covered by landscaped mining spoil, and the eastern half is dominated by large spoil heaps. This deposition has served to obliterate much of the evidence from the 19th century mining activity. Although some vestiges of the 19th century colliery may survive beneath this spoil, in practice it must be considered that any physical remains evidence is lost

13.4.54 The archaeological interest of the PDA is in practice reduced to those vestiges

of former mining activity which survive as visible surface features.

Historic Landscape

13.4.55 The PDA lies partly within the BILWHS, which is characterised overall as comprising:

‘the components of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape together make up an outstanding and remarkably complete example of a 19th century industrial landscape’.




13.4.56 The PDA lies within Historic Landscape Character Area Blaenavon HLCA 019 Mynydd Varteg Opencast. This is summarised as:

Extractive landscape dominated by modern opencast workings and waste tips. Former industrial extractive features related to quarrying and mining were previously characteristic of the area.

13.4.57 The PDA lies partly within the Landmap Aspect Areas TRFNHL017 Waun-

wen and Mynydd Llanhilleth V, TRFNHL019 Waun-wen and Mynydd Llanhilleth, and TRFNHL020 Mynydd Coity. Landmap is a Wales-wide landscape characterisation tool developed by the Countryside Council for Wales, and characterises the Aspect Areas’ historic landscape as follows:

TRFNHL017: Post-medieval industrial landscape over early post-medieval landscape of hillside enclosure and scattered farmsteads. Ironworking and coal producing area with technological developments. Archaeologically Sensitive Area. Industrial extraction and processing of iron and coal. Communication routes, industrial housing, remnant post-medieval agricultural landscape. TRFNHL019: Upland common with exploratory mining and traditional administrative boundaries. Communications route. Former monastic grange land. Traditional boundaries. Upland common with trial shafts. TRFNHL020: Post-medieval industrial landscape. Extractive industries. Registered Historic Landscape and World Heritage Site. Mineral extraction - coal and iron ore.

Assessment of Significance – Archaeological Potential

13.4.58 From the available evidence, this assessment shows that the PDA has a well-documented historic interest, related to intensive coal and ironstone mining activity across most of the PDA. This activity has significance in its contribution to the wider industrial landscape around Blaenavon, recognised for its international importance by its designation as a World Heritage Site. The northern part of the PDA, totalling approximately 20ha, lies within the BILWHS, although Varteg Hill is not specifically identified as a key attribute of the BILWHS in the original Nomination document (Blaenavon Partnership 1999a), or the subsequent management plans (Blaenavon Partnership 2011).

13.4.59 The heritage assets within the PDA contribute to the OUV of the WHS in a

general way, by forming part of the landscape background to the core assets of the WHS, which ‘reflects ways in which all the raw materials necessary for making iron were obtained’ (SOUV 2011).

13.4.60 The original Varteg Ironworks, early ironstone mining remains, and Varteg

Hill colliery were integral parts of the 19th century iron making and coal mining activity of the landscape. There is, however, little left of the 19th

13.4.58




century mining activity within the PDA, as this has been largely obscured (and most likely destroyed) by later tipping and landscaping using spoil from the extensive opencast mining which took place to the north-east, in the mid-20th century. The survival of 19th century assets within the PDA is very limited, and condition is poor.

13.4.61 The archaeological interest of the PDA is therefore limited by the disruption to

the original pattern of the 19th century colliery lay-out, and the deteriorated condition of the surviving remains. Only a few individual assets of those identified by the desk-based 2005 Ironworks Survey (GGAT 2005) were described as even partially intact following field visits.

13.4.62 None of the noted surviving vestiges of the mining activity within the PDA has

ever been considered as significant enough to warrant designation as a Scheduled Monument or listed building. As a result, the majority of the PDA, which lies outside the BILWHS, is considered to be of no more than local significance.

13.4.63 The area of the PDA within the BILWHS is by definition of international

significance, although this area makes up a tiny proportion of the WHS. The contribution of this area of the PDA to the OUV of the WHS is a minor one, as it contains very little intact evidence from the 19th century, beyond some elements of the transport links between the colliery and the wider transport network. The later spoil tips and mine workings contribute to the OUV by adding to the general background of extractive industrial activity across the landscape.

13.5 Designated Heritage Assets Including Assessment of Significance and Impact Assessment

a. Establishing the Significance and Setting of Heritage Assets

13.5.1 The starting point for evaluating the impact of a proposed development on heritage assets is to establish the significance of those assets, as well as the contribution their setting makes to that significance. The guidance used is discussed above in section 2.3.

b. Methodology for Assessment of Predicted Impacts on Asset Significance

Assessment of impacts

13.5.2 The assessment of the overall impact of the proposed coal reclamation on the significance of historic environment receptors (i.e. heritage assets), is evaluated by taking into account both the sensitivity (heritage significance as defined above, 2.3) of the receptor and the magnitude of the predicted change.

13.5.3 The assessment of the magnitude of change to the significance of designated assets is based upon the extent to which factors that contribute to the




significance of the assets would be affected (Table 1). The nature of the proposed development is such that there will be some physical impacts on designated assets, but also the potential to affect the setting of the assets. Setting may make a positive or negative contribution to the significance of the asset, may affect the ability to appreciate significance, or may be neutral.

Table 13.1: Criteria for Appraisal of Magnitude of Change on Heritage Resources

Impact Significance

Definition

Major • Total or substantial loss of the significance of a heritage asset.

• Substantial harm to a heritage asset's setting, such that the significance of the asset would be totally lost or substantially reduced (e.g. the significance of a designated heritage asset would be reduced to such a degree that its designation would be questionable; the significance of an undesignated heritage asset would be reduced to such a degree that its categorisation as a heritage asset would be questionable).

Moderate • Partial loss or alteration of the significance of a heritage asset.

• Considerable harm to a heritage asset’s setting, such that the asset's significance would be materially affected/considerably devalued, but not totally or substantially lost.

Minor • Slight loss of the significance of a heritage asset. This could include the removal of fabric that forms part of the heritage asset, but that is not integral to its significance (e.g. the demolition of later extensions/additions of little intrinsic value).

• Some harm to the heritage asset’s setting, but not to the degree that it would materially compromise the significance of the heritage asset.

• Perceivable level of harm, but insubstantial relative to the overall interest of the heritage asset.

Negligible • A very slight change to a heritage asset. This could include a change to a part of a heritage asset that does not materially contribute to its significance.

• Very minor change to a heritage asset’s setting such that there is a slight impact not materially affecting the heritage asset’s significance.

No Impact • No change to a heritage asset or its setting.

13.5.4 The predicted impacts and their effect on the significance of designated heritage assets has been established using the matrix in Table 2 below, which combines the ratings for the sensitivity of the heritage asset and magnitude of change. All designated heritage assets (equating to Category A as outlined in




the ‘Guide to Good Practice on Using the Register of Landscapes of Historic Interest in Wales in the Planning and Development Process, (Revised Edition 2007)’), are considered to be of high sensitivity regardless of their form and grading. This process is not quantitative, but relies upon professional judgement at each step. However the factors considered in informing these judgments and in arriving at the various rankings of value and magnitudes of impacts are observable facts (i.e. numbers of assets, spatial relationships, designations, impacts).

13.5.5 The Blaenavon Registered Historic Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest is considered as a Category A asset for the purposes of this assessment, given its national importance.

13.5.6 World Heritage Sites stand outside of this scale in terms of their significance, despite not being statutorily designated. The ICOMOS guidelines for assessment (ICOMOS 2011) indicate that WHS should be considered as of Very High sensitivity, with a correspondingly greater significance of impact for the same magnitude of change.

13.5.7 There are also undesignated assets within the PDA, which are elements of the mining activity that took place within the PDA. These are of Category B significance. The magnitude of change to the significance of these assets has been assessed using the same scale as for Category A assets, in order to simplify the assessment.

13.5.8 The table below summarises the criteria used in this report:

Table 13.2: Criteria for assessing significance of impact

Sensitivity of receptor

Magnitude of change

Major Moderate Minor Negligible

Very High Major Major Moderate Minor

High Major Moderate Minor Negligible

c. All Designated Heritage Assets

Impacts other than visual

13.5.9 While there will be impacts other than visual arising from the proposed development, primarily in the form of noise and increased traffic. It is not proposed to assess the effects of these factors on the historic environment, as the fixed-term nature of the proposed development means that these factors




will only operate temporarily, and will not have any long-term effects on the historic environment.

Designated assets within the PDA

13.5.10 No statutorily designated heritage assets such as Scheduled Ancient Monuments, Listed Buildings, Registered Parks and Gardens or Registered Battlefields, are present within the PDA. A number of designated assets are situated in the wider area.

13.5.11 Regarding non-statutory designated assets, the PDA lies partly within the

Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site (BILWHS). Although it is not located within the mapped boundary of the Blaenavon Registered Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest (HLW16 Gt 1), the PDA does lie within the Historic Landscape Character Area Blaenavon HLCA 019 Mynydd Varteg Opencast.

Designated assets beyond the PDA

13.5.12 Potential setting impacts to the significance of all designated heritage assets are assessed for an area of 1km around the PDA. Beyond 1km, a professional judgement is made on the need to assess individual heritage assets.

13.5.13 Three other HLCAs lie partly within the 1km search area. The PDA does not lie within a Conservation Area, but is situated within 350m of Cwmavon Conservation Area. This Conservation Area contains 8 listed buildings. There are five other listed buildings, one Scheduled Monument, and one asset proposed for scheduling, within 1km of the PDA.

d. Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site 13.5.14 The Blaenavon Industrial Landscape was inscribed on the World Heritage list

in 2000, on the basis of its remarkable survival of an industrial landscape developed over many decades, including the housing built for those who worked there. Mineral extraction began in the surrounding hills in the late 17th century, and the ironworks were built in the late 18th century. What is particularly remarkable is the survival of such a variety of features relating to this industrial past.

13.5.15 “The area around Blaenavon is one of the finest surviving examples in the world of a landscape created by coal mining and ironmaking in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The parallel development of these industries was one of the key dynamic forces of the world’s first Industrial Revolution, and South Wales was among its leading centres. For over a century, the natural landscape of Blaenavon was changed and scarred by ironmaking, coal extraction, settlement and related activities as the entire area of the nominated World Heritage Site was turned to the demands of a single new industrial enterprise and the radical transformation of land and society




which followed in its wake. There are two major preserved sites: Blaenavon Ironworks, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in state care, and Big Pit, an historic coal mine and museum in the care of the National Galleries and Museums of Wales. These sites are set in a relict or fossil landscape of inter-dependent mineral extraction, manufacturing, transport and settlement. The historic industrial town of Blaenavon also lies within the nominated site. The total landscape includes a range of Scheduled Ancient Monuments of National Importance, many Listed Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest and the Blaenavon and Cwmavon Conservation Areas.” (Blaenavon industrial Landscape World Heritage Site Management Plan)

13.5.16 The Outstanding Universal Values (OUV) of the BILWHS are summarised in a draft Statement of OUV prepared in 2011 (SOUV 2011). The most important part of this statement is the ways in which the WHS satisfies the UNESCO criteria for inscription as a WHS:

Criterion (iii): Bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared –

The Blaenavon Landscape constitutes an exceptional illustration in material form of the social and economic structure of 19th century industry.

Criterion (iv): Be an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history -

The components of the Blaenavon Landscape together make up an outstanding and remarkably complete example of a 19th century industrial landscape.

13.5.17 The area of the PDA which lies within the BILWHS equates to approximately 0.6% of its total area of 3290ha (32.9 square km). Of this 0.6%, approximately half will be subject to excavation and/or dumping as part of the development, a total of approximately 10ha, 0.3% of the BILWHS area. The PDA lies on the periphery of the WHS, away from the main centre of iron production at Blaenavon, 3.3km to the north-west. The PDA contains no designated heritage assets, but it does contain non-designated assets that also lie within the BILWHS.

13.5.18 The impact of the proposed development on the BILWHS would include both direct physical impacts and potential impacts on setting. Impacts on selected non-designated assets within the BLIWHS are also considered. These impacts are assessed in the table below.




Table 13.3: – World Heritage Site – potential impacts of proposed development

ID Name of asset Distance from PDA

Description, significance and setting Impact assessment

DIRECT IMPACTS WHS 984 Blaenavon

Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site (BILWHS)

Partly within PDA

Description: Overall, the BILWHS is an area of 32.9 square km. comprising the remains of an industrial landscape developed primarily during the 19th century, but incorporating elements of earlier workings. These workings relate to coal and iron mining activity, water management, iron smelting, and the associated transport infrastructure, as well as workers’ housing and related settlement buildings, including the town of Blaenavon. The area of the WHS that coincides with the PDA occupies two small areas at the northern end of the PDA (see Appendix 2). The western part lies on Mynydd Varteg Fach, and would be subject to overburden dumping. This area has already been landscaped as part of the restoration of the mid-20th century opencast mining on Waun Hoscyn to the north. The main area of the PDA that coincides with the WHS occupies a triangular area of land approximately 16ha in extent. This falls partly within the proposed area of coal excavation, and of overburden dumping. At the northern limit of the PDA, an area is proposed for the site compound and soil dumping. This area contains some surviving non-designated assets related to the historic mining activity. These include the line of the tramway leading northwards to Blaenavon, the western part of the Varteg Incline, the

The PDA lies partly within the WHS, and this part contains some individual heritage assets which are part of the historical mining activity within the PDA. The proposed development would alter the WHS to an extent, by excavating coal and dumping soil and overburden within the WHS. Individual non-designated assets within the WHS would undergo major impacts as a result. While these assets contribute to the stated OUVs of the BILWHS, the area of the BILWHS affected would be very small, approximately 0.3% of the total area, and






area of the Cwm Glo drift mine and a number of spoil tips. These assets are generally in poor condition and have low survival of original fabric. These individual assets will be considered below. The northern part of this area, beyond the Varteg Incline, is currently a relatively featureless area of scrubby grassland, with no recorded assets pertaining to the historic mining activity. Summary of significance: Overall, the Blaenavon Landscape constitutes an exceptional illustration in material form of the social and economic structure of 19th century industry. It has international significance for survival of the core assets of the Ironworks, Big Pit mine, and Blaenavon town, within a landscape which demonstrates the links between the extraction of the raw materials required for iron production.

None of the surviving individual heritage assets within this area has been considered significant enough to be designated in their own right, and they derive their significance from inclusion within the BILWHS.

Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The PDA forms a very small part of the asset, about 0.6% by area. Only part of the PDA within the WHS would be developed, equating to approximately 0.3% of the WHS area. This small area of the WHS subject to potential direct impacts from the proposed development is not described as an integral element of the WHS or its significance.

consequently the overall change to the BILWHS would be limited. It is therefore considered that proposed development would result in a Minor magnitude of change to the BILWHS, resulting in a Moderate impact to the significance of the BILWHS






While the section of the PDA which lies within the WHS PDA does contain assets which are related to the OUVs of the WHS, they are generally in poor condition and lack of survival of original fabric. The proposed development would preserve the character of the PDA, by reviving active coal mining in this part of the WHS. The PDA would be left with a post-extractive landscape.

NMR 61579

Varteg Incline (NB this section deals with the part of the Incline within the PDA – see below for discussion of the Varteg Incline Catch Pit)

Partly within PDA

Description: The incline was built in the 1860s to provide a tramway for the transport of coal from the Varteg Colliery to the railway line at Cwmavon. The incline runs for 720m from west to east. It consists of an embanked tramway, with no surviving rails or other fixtures. The whole of the Incline lies within the WHS, and the western 240m lies within the PDA. Of this, 66m of the incline lies within the section of the PDA which would be subject to impact from the development. This 66m is now a gently sloping grassed embankment, lined with a wire fence on either side. Summary of significance: The asset as a whole has significance as a surviving direct link between the colliery and the buildings in Cwmavon. The underlying structure of the asset survives, but none of the superstructure or fittings. The Incline is one of the most intact surviving elements of the late 19th-century mining activity in the PDA. It is now used as a path leading visitors up from the road to

The western end of the asset would be impacted by the development, (approximately 9% of the Incline would be buried under overburden dumping). The physical link between the Varteg Hill mining area and Cwmavon would not be lost, as part of the Incline would still be in situ west of Varteg Road. It is therefore considered that proposed development would result in a Moderate magnitude of change to the asset. This would result in a Moderate impact to the significance of the asset.






the area of the colliery. Part of the eastern end of the Incline is being considered for scheduling, but overall the Incline as a whole has not been considered significanct enough to schedule. It contributes in a small way to the overall OUV of the BILWHS, as part of the industrial landscape transport infrastructure. Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: Approximately 1/3rd of the asset is within the PDA, between the Colliery site and Varteg Road. It forms a distinctive feature rising across the northern part of the PDA. The proposed development would affect the westernmost 9% of the whole asset, through burial under overburden material.

(The Incline is is a non-designated heritage asset of Category B).

NMR 61404

Varteg Hill Colliery Branch

Within PDA

Description: Originally a length of railway line, running 800m up an incline from what is now Varteg Road, but which carried a railway to Blaenavon. It is now a metalled road. The asset lies within the WHS. Summary of significance: The asset has significance in marking the original route of the branch railway connection from Varteg Hill colliery to Blaenavon, and thence to the wider world. It is not known whether it retains any original fabric below the modern surface, but some of the original railbed may survive. Although not of designatable significance in its own right, it contributes in a small way to the overall OUV of the BILWHS, as part of the industrial landscape transport infrastructure.

The southern end of the asset would be impacted by the development, and approximately 25% of the branch line route would be lost through excavation. The majority would survive alongside the site compound and the soil dump area. The road would still function as the link between the colliery area and Varteg Road. It is therefore considered that






Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The asset lies within the PDA, and it now forms the main vehicular route into the PDA.

proposed development would result in a Moderate magnitude of change to the asset. This would result in a Moderate impact to the significance of the asset. (The branch line is a non-designated heritage asset of Category B).

NMR 61577 NMR 61578

Soil Tip VII Spoil Tip VI

Description: Large spoil tips of waste from coal mining. Summary of significance: The spoils tips have significance as remnants of the 20th-century opencast mining. They obscure elements of the 19th century colliery. They contribute to the general nature of the industrial landscape, so make a small contribution to the overall OUV of the WHS. Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The spoil tips lie within the PDA.

The spoil tips would be completely removed by the development. This would be a Major magnitude of change to the assets, resulting in the loss of any significance they have. (The spoil tips are non-designated assets of Category B)

NMR 61509

Cwm Glo Drift Mine

Within PDA

Description: The mine now appears as a rough D-shaped depression in the surface, about 0.75 ha in extent, at the top of the lane which runs from Salisbury terrace. A few derelict structures are located a the southern end, with corrugated iron roofing.

The remains of the mine would be completely removed by the development. This would be a Major






Summary of significance: the mine workings represent the most recent (to date) coal extraction activity on Varteg Hill, and serve to add continuity to the industrial history. The mine contributes to the general nature of the industrial landscape, and so makes a very small contribution to the overall OUV of the WHS. Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The spoil tips lie within the PDA.

magnitude of change to the asset, resulting in the loss of any significance it has. (The drift mine is is a non-designated heritage asset of Category B).

INDIRECT IMPACTS WHS 984 Blaenavon

Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site (BILWHS)

Partly within PDA

Description: Overall, the BILWHS is an area of 32.9 square km. comprising the remains of an industrial landscape developed primarily during the 19th century, but incorporating elements of earlier workings. These workings relate to coal and iron mining activity, water management, iron smelting, and the associated transport infrastructure, as well as workers’ housing and related settlement buildings, including the town of Blaenavon. Setting: The wider setting of the WHS is very extensive, and cannot be described here. It includes the valleys to east and west, and the mountains to the north, with views that open out to the coastal plain to the south. The majority of the PDA lies adjacent to the WHS, in its immediate setting. In terms of views out of the WHS over the PDA, these are principally south-west from the summit of Mynydd Varteg Fawr, which lies approximately 1km north-west of the PDA; and at longer distances south-west from the ridge on the east side of

The PDA does lie within the setting of the WHS, but forms only a minor part. The current evidence of mining waste deposition which the PDA provides would not disappear as a result of the proposed development, but would be remodelled, and the essence of the setting would be retained. It is therefore considered that proposed development would






the Afon Lwyd valley. The spoil tips and workings of the PDA provide a backdrop of industrial activity on the fringe of the WHS. The PDA does not form any part of the setting of the core assets of the WHS, around the Ironworks in Blaenavon and Big Pit mine. Summary of significance: Overall, the Blaenavon Landscape constitutes an exceptional illustration in material form of the social and economic structure of 19th century industry. It is of international significance, as recognised by its inscription as a World Heritage Site.

The setting of the WHS serves primarily to isolate it and to show the industrial remains concentrated within it in sharper relief. While the setting is not regarded as part of the OUV of the WHS, it contributes to its significance.

Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The PDA does lie within the setting of the WHS, but does not form a major part. It is within the immediate the setting for one area of the WHS, its south-eastern corner. The PDA contributes in a minor role to the significance of the WHS by providing a backdrop of evidence for 20th century mining activity.

result in a Minor magnitude of change to the setting of the BILWHS, resulting in a Moderate impact to the significance of the BILWHS.




e. Listed Buildings

13.5.19 There are no listed buildings within, or immediately adjacent to, the PDA. There are 13 listed building within 1km of the PDA (see Appendix 1). Of these, 8 lie to the east of the PDA within the Cwmavon Conservation Area.

13.5.20 Varteg Road runs along the top of a significant break of slope in the valley side. To the east of the road, the landscape falls dramatically away to the valley bottom. While some of the listed buildings in Cwmavon can be seen from Varteg Road itself, to the west of Varteg Road the steep western slope of the valley, and the valley bottom are not visible. The limit of the proposed development within the PDA will be approximately 150m west of Varteg Road, preventing views into the valley bottom.

13.5.21 The field visit confirmed there is no intervisibility between the PDA and the following listed buildings in Cwmavon:

Table 13.4 – Listed Buildings within 1km of PDA in Cwmavon – not visible

from PDA

ID Name Distance, direction Grade

18584 Cwmavon House 500m E II

3133 1 Forge Row 500m E II*






18596 Former Westlake Brewery 500m E II

13.5.22 While there is an associative relationship with the PDA, dating from the development of Cwmavon in the early 19th century in parallel with the ironstone extraction within the PDA, the lack of intervisibility between these assets and the PDA limits the potential for an impact to arise. It is therefore considered that the proposed development would result in no impact to their significance. As such they are not considered further.




13.5.23 The Cwmavon Conservation Area is assessed separately below (see 5.6).

13.5.24 There is another group of listed buildings apparently present 800m south-west of the PDA. This a row of 19th-century houses known as The Bungalows. They appear on the Torfaen Borough Council register of listed buildings, and are listed in the GGAT HER, but no information is available about these houses on the RCHAMW on-line Coflein database, and the reference numbers are assigned to other buildings. For the purposes of this assessment, it is assumed that they are listed, and potential impacts on their settings are included in the table below.

13.5.25 One other listed building, the Dog Stone (Carlo’s Grave) is also assessed, as it stands on the slope of Mynydd Varteg Fawr 850m north-west of the PDA.




Table 13.5 – Listed Buildings Assessment

ID Name and grade Distance from PDA


NPRN 411521

Carlo’s Grave/The Dog Stone, II

750m NW

Description: A cast-iron pillar erected in 1864 as a memorial to a dog accidentally shot while hunting. Setting: The memorial is on the south-eastern slope of Mynydd Varteg Fawr, below the triangulation point at the summit. It has a wide setting across an extensive area of the surrounding countryside, of which the PDA forms a part. Summary of significance: The monument has significance in its links to a specific time, person and place within the local community. It also has links to the industrial heritage of the area, as it was cast in the ironworks, and the person who set it up was the manager of the ironworks. In this way it encapsulates the links between industry, social class, and leisure activities of the mid-19th century. Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: Only the western part of the PDA, the cwm of Mynydd Varteg Fach, lies within the near setting of the monument. The eastern part, where the colliery remains are concentrated, is obscured from the monument by intervening topography. The PDA forms a moderate proportion of the setting.

The western part of PDA lies within the setting of the asset. This area, of landscaped opencast mining spoil deposition, would be subject to further overburden dumping, and would not fundamentally change its appearance in the long term. Over time, the setting would hardly be altered by the development. It is therefore considered that proposed development would result in a Negligible magnitude of change to the setting of the monument, resulting in a Negligible impact to the significance of the asset.






18592, 18593, 18594, 18595

1 – 4, The Bungalows, II (NB: there is some confusion in the available records as the whether these houses are listed)

800m SW

Description: Short terrace of 19th-century workers’ cottages, oriented east to west, south of Balance Meadows. The rear of the houses faces north towards the PDA, and all of them have extensions to the rear elevation and small gardens. Mature trees lie immediately to the north. Setting: The houses are built to face south, away from the PDA. They do have a wider setting, in view of their prominent isolated location, which includes the PDA, but the setting is focussed southwards. Summary of significance: The houses have significance in the survival of historic fabric, and in their representation of a style of design and construction typical of the industrial workers’ housing of the area in the 19th century. They also have historical significance in their embodiment of social and cultural values of the time. The setting does contribute to their significance, as they are widely visible within the landscape. Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The PDA lies within the wider setting of the assets, but not within its near or primary setting to the south. As such the PDA contributes in a minor way to the wider setting of the cottages.

The PDA provides a backdrop of historical industrial activity in the form of spoil heaps, and this would be replaced by new overburden dumps. The PDA lies within the wider setting of the assets. While the setting is an important element of the assets’ significance, the PDA makes a very small contribution to the setting. It is therefore considered that proposed development would result in a Negligible magnitude of change to the setting of the assets, resulting in a Negligible impact to the significance of the asset.




f. Conservation Areas

13.5.26 The Cwmavon Conservation Area lies 160m east of the eastern boundary of the PDA.

13.5.27 The setting of the Conservation Area is closely confined to the steep wooded valley of the Afon Lwyd, and the forested character is the dominant element of the setting (Torfaen CBC 2011). As a result of this enclosure within the tight confines of the valley bottom, the Conservation Area does not have strong visual links with the higher valley edges and the hills to east and west.

13.5.28 In relation to the PDA, the pronounced break of slope at Varteg Road, beyond which the land slopes much less steeply than in the lower valley, largely prevents intervisibility with the land to the west.

13.5.29 As a result of this lack of intervisibility with the Conservation Area as a whole, it is considered that the proposed development would have no impact on the significance of the Cwmavon Conservation Area.

g. Scheduled Monuments

13.5.30 There is one Scheduled Monument within 1km of the PDA, this is the ruins of the Medieval Capel Newydd to the north. It is assessed in the table below.

13.5.31 There is one asset which has been determined to be of national importance, and which is in the process of being scheduled. This is the Varteg Hill Colliery Incline Catch Pit (MM354). This asset forms the eastern end of the Varteg Incline, and lies wholly in the Afon Lwyd valley, over 400m from the eastern boundary of the PDA. There would be no direct impact arising on this asset from the proposed development. It is not intervisible with the PDA, as it lies below the break of slope and sightline provided by Varteg Road. It is therefore considered that there would be No impact arising on the setting of this asset from the proposed development, and therefore no effect on its significance.




Table 13.6 – Scheduled Monument Assessment

ID Name Distance from PDA Description, significance and setting Impact assessment

CM212 100133

Site of Capel Newydd, Blaenavon

900m NE Description: The grass-covered remains of a ruined chapel located on a broad terrace at the foot of a slope. A possible large enclosure is visible in the surrounding grassland. Setting: The close setting is enclosed by woodland to the south, and the rising ground to the north. While the ruins have a wider setting, they are not strongly linked to the surrounding landscape by association or physical links such as transport routes. Summary of significance: The ruins of the chapel has significance in the survival of historic fabric from a period preceding the industrial development of the landscape. The setting of the chapel ruins on the valley side is an element of its significance. Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The PDA does lie in the setting of the assets, but the site visit has confirmed that there is only partial intervisibility between the chapel ruins and the PDA. The PDA does not form a significant element of the asset’s setting

There is partial intervisibility between the PDA and the asset. While this places the PDA within the setting of the asset, this setting is not the most important element of the asset’s significance. The partial visibility of the PDA from the asset would not make a significant change to the setting. It is therefore considered that proposed development would result in a Negligible magnitude of change to the setting of the Scheduled barrow, resulting in a Negligible impact to the significance of the asset.




13.5.32 Registered Historic Landscape

13.5.33 The register of Landscapes of Historic Interest in Wales was published in 1998 and 2001, and the Historic Landscape Character Areas for the Blaenavon Landscape Area have been defined by the Historic Landscape Characterisation undertaken by Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust in 2005, and published (with a summary on-line).

13.5.34 The mapping data from the HER and NMR shows the PDA beyond the boundaries of the Blaenavon Registered Landscape Area of Outstanding Historic Interest. The detailed mapping of the Registered Landscape Area available on-line from the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust places the PDA partly within one of the Historic Landscape Character Areas (HLCAs) for which detailed Historic Landscape characterisation has been carried out. Three other HLCAs lie partly within 1km of the PDA (see Appendix 2).

13.5.35 In discussion with Neil Maylan of Cadw, it was not thought necessary to carry out an ASIDOHL2 assessment (see CCW/Cadw 2007) of the impact of the proposed development on the Registered Landscape Area or HCLAs, due to the limitations of the ASIDOHL2 methodology.

13.5.36 The potential for impact on the significance of the Registered Landscape Area is addressed in the same way as for other heritage assets, in Table 7 below. The whole landscape area is assessed for potential impacts on setting, and the individual Historic Landscape Character Areas are considered for any direct impacts and impacts on setting.




Table 13.7 – Registered Landscape Area Assessment



DIRECT IMPACTS HLCA 019 Mynydd Varteg

Opencast PDA partly within HLCA

Description: Extractive landscape dominated by modern opencast workings and waste tips. Former industrial extractive features related to quarrying and mining were previously characteristic of the area. Contains the northern slopes of Mynydd Varteg Fawr, and the opencast area of Waun Hoscyn, to the north of the PDA. Setting: The HLCA has a wide setting, which is generally orientated to the north-east and east, as the landscape slopes generally in these directions. The western part of the PDA, in the cwm of Mynydd Varteg Fach, lies in the southern part of the HLCA. The eastern part of the PDA is largely masked from the HLCA, by the Summary of significance: This HLCA reflects the results of many years of opencast mining, in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the workings on Mynydd Varteg Fach which were exploited by the Varteg Hill colliery. It is significant as the source area for much of the raw material which fed the industrial processing of the area. The setting is an important element of the HLCAs significance, as it comprises much of the rest of the historic landscape.

The part of the PDA which lies within the HLCA would be subject to additional overburden deposition as part of the proposed development. This would not radically alter the appearance of this part of the HLCA. While this would involve change to the HLCA, it would not make a major change to the significance of the HLCA, which would retain its character as an extractive landscape. It is therefore considered that the proposed development would result






Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The western part of the PDA lies within the HLCA. It contains a part of the opencast landscape which has been subject to landscaping via the deposition of spoil across its surface. The eastern part of the PDA does not form a major part of the HLCA’s setting.

in a Negligible magnitude of change to the character and setting of the HLCA, resulting in a Negligible impact to the significance of the asset.

INDIRECT IMPACTS HLW (Gt) 1

Blaenavon, Registered Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest

PDA partly within the landscape

Description: Extensive area of historic mining activity, located at the head of the Afon Lwyd valley in one of the more exposed areas of the Gwent uplands. The valley sides rise fairly steeply to the surrounding moorland ridges of Cefn Coch, Coity Mountain and the Blorenge. The Pwll Du area, to the north of the town, occupies the plateau forming the watershed between the Afon Lwyd valley and the Clydach gorge to the north. Setting: The setting of the historic landscape area cannot be summarised here, as it is too diverse and extensive. The key element is the focus inwards towards the valley, from the hill slopes which surround Blaenavon town.

The part of the PDA which lies within the Registered Landscape setting would be subject to additional overburden deposition as part of the proposed development. This would not radically alter the appearance of this part of the HLCA. While this would involve change to the setting of the HLCA, it would not






Summary of Significance: The whole area is covered by early, coal opencasts and it survives as probably the only sizeable, abandoned, multiple period, opencast mineral working in South Wales. It remains a palimpsest of early mineral working and processing. These elements, with the town of Blaenavon, Coity Mountain, the Blorenge and Pwll Du, and a preserved mining scenery directly related to the mining processes, form the essence of the unique historic character of the landscape of Blaenavon. The whole area contains diverse evidence of activity from the prehistoric to the recent past. Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The PDA lies partly within the setting of the Registered Landscape, and has the potential to affect the significance of the asset. The PDA would occupy only a very small part of the setting of the Registered Landscape Area, on it s southern fringe. It cannot be seen from the majority of the Landscape Area, as it lies in the shadow of Mynydd Varteg Fach, and is not visible from Blaenavon itself and the heart of the Registered Landscape.

make a major change to the significance of the HLCA, which would retain its character as an extractive landscape. It is therefore considered that the proposed development would result in a Negligible magnitude of change to the character and setting of the HLCA, resulting in a Negligible impact to the significance of the asset.

HLCA 017 Mynydd y Garn-fawr

900m NE Description: Open moorland used for grazing, occupying the land to the north-east of Blaenavon, above the Avon Lwyd valley. Predominantly unenclosed upland moorland landscape with characteristic prehistoric funerary and ritual features.

The PDA is within the setting of the asset, which is an important element of the asset’s significance. The PDA is, however, a






Setting: The HLCA has a wide setting, which is generally orientated to the south, as the land slopes downwards in this direction. The setting includes the town of Blaenavon, the Ironworks and the Coity Mountain, as well as the Afon Lwyd valley opening out to the south. The PDA lies within this setting on the southern slope of the Afon Lwyd valley. The setting is an important element of the HLCAs significance, as it comprises the rest of the historic landscape. Summary of significance: This HLCA reflects the limits of unenclosed land and the main industrial extractive area, Activity in the area dates back to at least the Bronze Age. Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The PDA lies within the setting of the landscape area, but forms a very small part of that setting. It provides evidence of the recent extractive activity within the wider landscape.

very small element of the setting. The development would leave the PDA as an area of mining spoil deposition, as it is currently. It is therefore considered that proposed development would result in a Negligible magnitude of change to the setting of the HLCA, resulting in a Negligible impact to the significance of the asset.

HLCA 018 Cwmavon Industrial Transport Corridor

Adjacent to E

Description: Major transport corridor, also characterised as a rare surviving medieval and post-medieval agricultural landscape with areas of woodland, scattered post-medieval farmsteads, and industrial processing at Cwmavon Forge with associated industrial housing. Setting: The HLCA has an enclosed setting, within the steep-sided

The PDA is on the boundary of the HCLA setting, and is only partly intervisible. It therefore contributes a very minor element of the setting of the HLCA.






valley of the Afon Lwyd. The valley opens to north and south, providing the wider setting. The transport network and industrial heritage is concentrated in the valley bottom, and the setting is focussed inwards. Summary of significance: This HLCA reflects the multiple layers of transport development which connected the Blaenavon Works to the outside world via a turnpike road and a series of railway lines. Forge Row represents a very fine example of purpose built workers’ housing. Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The PDA lies on the fringe of the setting of this HLCA, and although is linked to it by historical transport routes, it is not linked visually: the break of slope along Varteg Road means that the view from the valley bottom in the direction of the PDA is limited, and therefore the PDA plays a very minor role in the setting of the HLCA.

It is therefore considered that proposed development would result in a Negligible magnitude of change to the setting of the HLCA, resulting in a Negligible impact to the significance of the asset.

HLC 020 Coity Mountain Description: The area encompasses Coity Mountain, Mynydd James and Mynydd Varteg Fawr. It is a predominantly unenclosed upland landscape characterized by agricultural stock management, boundary markers, and prehistoric funerary ritual features. Another main characteristic is industrial extraction given the numerous quarries and collieries once in the area. Setting: The HLCA has a very wide setting, in most directions,

The setting of the HLCA is very extensive, and the PDA is on the boundary of that setting, and is only partly intervisible. The PDA contributes a very minor element of the






given its upland nature. The setting includes the town of Blaenavon, the Ironworks, as well as Ebbw Vale to the west, the Clydach Gorge to the north and the wider Blaenavon landscape to the north-east. The PDA lies within this setting just beyond the south-east limit of the HLCA. The setting is an important element of the HLCA’s significance, as it comprises the rest of the historic landscape. Summary of significance: This HLCA retains a palimpsest of all preiods of activity within the landscape, from the Neolithic onwards. It provides the backdrop to the town and the ironworks in Blaenavon, and serves to create the isolation which has preserved the Blaenavon landscape features. Assessment of PDA relationship to asset: The PDA lies within the setting of the landscape area, but forms a very small part of that setting. It provides evidence of the recent extractive activity within the wider landscape.

setting of the HLCA. It is therefore considered that proposed development would result in a Negligible magnitude of change to the setting of the HLCA, resulting in a Negligible impact to the significance of the asset.




13.6 Site Conditions, the Proposed Development and Impact on Heritage Assets

Site Conditions

13.6.1 The PDA was visited in August and September 2014 and comprises an

area of extensive spoil tips and vestiges of industrial activity. A metalled roadway runs through the site from Varteg Road at the northern end of the PDA, curving round the southern end of Mynydd Varteg Fach to allow access to the western part of the PDA.

13.6.2 The PDA is largely covered in scrub, with the spoil tips colonised by

heathers. The area has some agricultural enclosures in its northern part, and is grazed by sheep.

13.6.3 It is proposed to undertake the excavation of coal from the eastern part

of the PDA. The works will involve the re-deposition of soil, overburden from the excavation, and the removal of coal from the site. The western part of the PDA would be used solely for overburden and soil deposition. It is proposed to remodel the landscape following the completion of coal extraction from the site, and a long-term management plan has been drawn up for the PDA. The final contours of the post-development PDA will be altered from the current topography.

Summary of Heritage Impacts

Potential Archaeological Impacts

13.6.4 The development proposals have the potential to impact on any

surviving surface remains which would be destroyed within the areas of coal extraction, but could be preserved beneath the overburden deposition. The development proposals have the potential to impact on any sub-surface remains which may survive within the PDA, which would be destroyed within the areas of coal extraction, but could be preserved beneath the overburden deposition.

13.6.5 Current evidence confirms the presence of a considerable number of

heritage assets surviving in whole or in part, which relate to the previous use of the PDA as an ironstone mine, colliery and deposit for opencast coal mining spoil. These assets collectively form part of the




ensemble of heritage assets which contribute to the international significance of the area’s industrial heritage.

13.6.6 Part of the PDA lies within the BILWHS, and therefore by definition

this area of the PDA has international heritage significance.

13.6.7 The area of the PDA not within the BILWHS has assets of local to regional significance, none of which have been protected through statutory designation.

13.6.8 There is a low potential for hitherto unknown archaeological remains,

as although those assets not surviving on the surface are buried beneath the 20th century spoil dumps, the extent of the 19th and early 20th century heritage assets has been mapped and recorded.

13.6.9 The partial inclusion of the PDA within the Blaenavon Industrial

Landscape World Heritage Site indicates that the development has the potential to bring about a Moderate change to the significance of the archaeological interest of the BILWHS.

13.6.10 The proposed development has the potential to bring about Major

change to the significance of less sensitive (Category B to U) assets in the area of the PDA not contained within the BILWHS. This change would be a result of the proposed coal extraction, overburden dumping and site reclamation.

Potential Impacts on Designated Heritage Assets

13.6.11 The direct impacts, and indirect impacts on the settings of the

designated heritage assets in the wider area has been assessed in detail (see Section 5, above).

13.6.12 It has been considered that the proposed development would have no

more than a Moderate direct impact on the OUVs of the BILWHS. Although the development would only remove and remodel a very small proportion of the WHS, thereby affecting its significance to a relatively small degree, the very high sensitivity of the BILWHS means this impact is more significant than for other assets.

13.6.13 It is also considered that the PDA would only have a Moderate

indirect impact on the setting of the BILWHS.

13.6.14 It is considered that the proposed development would have no more than a Negligible impact on the significance of any listed building within 1km of the PDA.




13.6.15 It is considered that the proposed development would have no more than a Negligible impact on the significance of any Scheduled Monument within 1km of the PDA.

13.6.16 It is considered that the proposed development would have no more

than a Negligible impact on the significance of the Blaenavon Registered Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest. It would also have a Negligible impact on the character of any of the Historic Landscape Character Areas which lie within 1km of the PDA.

13.6.17 Overall, the impact on the historic environment is not considered such

that it would preclude development.

Potential Mitigation

13.6.18 The potential adverse impacts on the historic environment considered above could potentially be mitigated by the following measures:

• Detailed archaeological recording of the nature and condition of

all assets remaining within the PDA, and the publication of a detailed record of the industrial history of the PDA, could preserve the archaeological interest of the PDA through record.

• It may also be possible to expose and record other assets currently buried by the 20th century spoil tips, for inclusion in this record.

• Assets that are likely to be buried beneath the proposed overburden dumps (e.g. the western end of the Varteg Incline) could potentially be preserved in situ.

• Any impacts on setting could be moderated by altering the design of the final landscaping of the PDA following the completion of the coal extraction. The post-extraction landscaping could be modelled to reflect more closely the current topography.




13.7 Summary and Conclusions

13.7.1 The PDA is proposed for a scheme involving the further extraction of coal from the site through excavation, along with creation of new dumps of soil and overburden material. The current profile of the site would be altered, as a result of the extractive works and subsequent reclamation plans. Its character as a post-extractive landscape would not be altered.

13.7.2 The known archaeological interest of the PDA consists of surviving

vestiges of 19th and 20th century mining activity, including remains of buildings, transport infrastructure, and spoil tips. There is considered to no potential for encountering as yet unknown archaeological remains within the PDA, as the preceding periods of activity have been well mapped. Some of the known assets are currently buried beneath 20th century mining spoil tips.

13.7.3 Part of the PDA lies within the BILWHS, and this part of the PDA is

therefore of international significance. The rest of the PDA has a heritage significance of local to regional importance.

13.7.4 The proposed development has the potential to have a Moderate

impact on the OUV of the BILWHS, via direct impacts and indirect impacts on setting.

13.7.5 The proposed development has the potential to have no more than a

Negligible impact on the significance of any other designated asset.

13.7.6 The proposed development has the potential to have Major impact on non-designated heritage assets of local to regional significance within the PDA.

13.7.7 The potential impact on the historic environment could be mitigated

through a series of measures including a programme of detailed archaeological survey and recording of the surviving heritage assets within the PDA, and publication of a study of the PDA which would integrate the historical information relating to its previous use(s).

13.7.8 This report forms the initial archaeological assessment required by the

planning authority and has identified the known heritage assets, the potential for as yet unknown heritage assets and the effect of the proposed development on those assets.




Sources Consulted General Glamorgan-Gwent Historic Environment Record (HER)

Central Air Photographic Archive, Cardiff

National Monuments Record, Wales

Planning Policy Wales

The National Heritage Act 1983 (amended 2003)

Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (and subsequent amendments)

The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act (AMAA) 1979

Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990

Planning Policy Wales (2002) Chapter 6: Conserving the Historic Environment

Welsh Office Circular 61/96 'Planning and the Historic Environment: Historic Buildings and Conservation Areas’

Welsh Office Circular 60/69 'Planning and the Historic Environment: Archaeology'

Bibliographic

Blaenavon Partnership (1999) Management Plan for the Nominated World Heritage Site Blaenavon Industrial Landscape. Blaenavon Partnership (2011) Blaenavon World Heritage Site: Management Plan 2011-2016. Cadw (2011) Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance for the Sustainable Management of the Historic Environment in Wales. Cadw, Cardiff.

CCW/Cadw (2007) Guide to Good Practice on Using the Register of Landscapes of Historic Interest in Wales in the Planning and Development Process, (Revised Edition 2007). Countryside Council for Wales/Cadw, Cardiff.

CgMs (2004) Varteg Hill: Historic Landscape and Archaeological Desk-based Assessment Project 2405

CgMs (2010) Archaeological Desk-based Assessment, Varteg Road, Varteg, Gwent. Project 12078

Davies, W. (1982) Wales in the Early Middle Ages Leicester University Press

DCMS, (2010) Scheduled Monuments. Identifying, protecting, conserving and investigating nationally important archaeological sites under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 March 2010

English Heritage, (2011) The Setting of Heritage Assets. English Heritage Guidance.




Faber Maunsell/AECOM (2006) Varteg Hill Reclamation Recovery Scheme, Blaenavon, South Wales: Hydrogeological and contaminated land assessment. Final Interpretative Report Volume 1 - Text. Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust (2005) Historic landscape characterisation: Blaenafon/Blaenavon. Part 1 and 2: landscape characterisation and management. GGAT Report no. 2005/002, January 2005.

Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust (2005 - 2010) Southeast Wales Industrial Ironworks Landscapes. Series of surveys and reports prepared for Cadw.

‘Register of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales’, CCW, Cadw, ICOMOS UK - Part 1: Parks and Gardens (published on a county basis); Part 2.1: Landscapes of Outstanding Historic Interest;

SOUV (2011) Draft Statement of Outstanding Universal Value. Appendix 2 of Blaenavon Partnership 2011. Torfaen County Borough Council (2011) Cwmavon Conservation area Appraisal and Management Plan. UNESCO (1972) Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage: adopted by the General Conference at its seventeenth session, Paris, 16 November 1972, WHC-2001/WS/2

Cartographic 1840 Tithe Map

Ordnance Survey 1:2500 editions: 1882, 1901, 1920, 1962, 1975, 1993

Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 / 1:10,560 editions: 1886, 1902, 1922, 1938, 1953, 1964-65, 1977-79, 2006, 2014

Websites Archaeological Data Service - ads.ahds.ac.uk

British Geological Society Geology of Britain Viewer - http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/geologyOfBritain/viewer.html

COFLEIN (RCAHMW on-line archive) - www.coflein.gov.uk Archwilio (GGAT HER on-line) - http://www.cofiadurcahcymru.org.uk/arch

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/geologyOfBritain/viewer.html

http://www.cofiadurcahcymru.org.uk/arch




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig 13.1 Site location Fig 13.2 1886 Ordnance Survey map 1:10,560 Fig 13.3 1902 Ordnance Survey map 1:10,560 Fig 13.4 1901 Ordnance Survey map 1:2,500 (detail of Varteg colliery buildings) Fig 13.5 1938 Ordnance Survey map 1:10,560 Fig 13.6 1953 Ordnance Survey map 1:10,560 Fig 13.7 1964-65 Ordnance Survey map 1:10,000 Fig 13.8 1962 Ordnance Survey map 1:2,500 (detail of site of former Varteg Colliery buildings) Fig 13.9 1977-79 Ordnance Survey map 1:10,000 Fig 13.10 2006 Ordnance Survey map 1:10,000 Fig 13.11 Activity areas of the proposed development overlaid onto

1886 Ordnance Survey map 1:10,560 Fig 13.12 Activity areas of the proposed development overlaid onto 2014 Ordnance Survey map 1:10,000

LIST OF PLATES

Plate 13.1 View south-west over the PDA, from the top of Salisbury Terrace Plate 13.2 View north over the PDA from the top of Salisbury Terrace Plate 13.3 View east over site from the top of the lane leading west from Salisbury Terrace Plate 13.4 View north over PDA, along branch railway route, from the top of the lane leading west from Salisbury Terrace Plate 13.5 View north along branch railway route Plate 13.6 View west over PDA and beyond, from the top of the lane leading west from Salisbury Terrace Plate 13.7 View of Cwm Glo Drift mine. Plate 13.8 View of Cwm Glo Drift mine Plate 13.9 View south-east from centre of site Plate 13.10 View east from close to ‘The Washery’ Plate 13.11 View south over Varteg Waste close to ‘The Washery’ (The Bungalows visible) Plate 13.12 View west over southern end of PDA, close to ‘The Washery’ Plate 13.13 View north over PDA from south-east corner Plate 13.14 View north over PDA from southern edge of Varteg Waste (to

south) Plate 13.15 View west up Varteg Incline from Varteg Road Plate 13.16 Forge Row, Cwmavon, from southern end Plate 13.17 View east from Forge Row, Cwmavon, from southern end of row Plate 13.18 View east down Varteg Incline from the western terminus




Appendices: Heritage Assets Data Maps Appx 13.1a: Designated heritage assets (all categories) within 1km of the

PDA Appx 13.1b: HER Events recorded within 1km of the PDA Appx 13.1c: Other HER entries Appx 13.1d: Non-HER data from 2005 Ironworks survey Appx 13.1e: RCAHMW Monuments Data (Buildings and Structures Appx 13.1f: RCAHMW Other monument data Appx 13.2a: Proposed development plan: activity areas within the PDA Appx 13.2b: Proposed development plan in relation to WHS Appx 13.2c: Proposed development plan over extractive features recorded in

GGAT 2005 survey Appx 13.2d Proposed development plan over extractive featrures within wider

area, as recorded in 2005 GGAT survey Appx 13.2e Proposed development plan over Historic Landscape Character

Areas

EP/Oct 2014L:\Archaeology\Current Jobs\17000-17999\17673 - Varteg\Figures

© Ordnance Survey maps reproduced with the sanction of the controller of HM Stationery Office. Licence No: AL 100014723

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [2013]

Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 1:

Site Locationwww.cgms.co.uk

Planning • Heritage

Not to Scale:

Illustrative OnlyLegend

Site Location

N



Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 2:

1886 Ordnance Survey

Mapwww.cgms.co.uk


Not to Scale:


Site Boundary

N



Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 3:


Mapwww.cgms.co.uk


Not to Scale:


Site Boundary

N



Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 4:


Mapwww.cgms.co.uk


Not to Scale:


Site Boundary

N



Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 5:


Mapwww.cgms.co.uk


Not to Scale:


Site Boundary

N



Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 6:


Mapwww.cgms.co.uk


Not to Scale:


Site Boundary

N



Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 7:

1964-1965 Ordnance

Survey Mapwww.cgms.co.uk


Not to Scale:


Site Boundary

N



Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 8:


Mapwww.cgms.co.uk


Not to Scale:


Site Boundary

N



Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 9:

1977-1979 Ordnance

Survey Mapwww.cgms.co.uk


Not to Scale:


Site Boundary

N



Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 10:


Mapwww.cgms.co.uk


Not to Scale:


Site Boundary

N



Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 11:

Proposed development

plan overlaid onto 1886

Ordnance Survey Mapwww.cgms.co.uk


Not to Scale:


Site Boundary

NLimit of Excavation

Overburden Dumps

Soil Dumps

Site Compound

Overhead Cables



Varteg Hill Coal

Reclamation Project

Figure 12:

Proposed development

plan overlaid onto 2014

Ordnance Survey Mapwww.cgms.co.uk


Not to Scale:


Site Boundary

NLimit of Excavation

Overburden Dumps

Soil Dumps

Site Compound

Overhead Cables

Plate 1: View south-west over the PDA, from the top of Salisbury Terrace

Plate 2: View north over the PDA from the top of Salisbury Terrace

Plate 3: View east over site from the top of the lane leading west from Salisbury Terrace

Plate 4: View north over PDA, along branch railway route, from the top of the lane leading west from Salisbury Terrace

Plate 5: View north along branch railway route

Plate 6: View west over PDA and beyond, from the top of the lane leading west from Salisbury Terrace

Plate 7: View of Cwm Glo Drift mine

Plate 8: View of Cwm Glo Drift mine

Plate 9: View south-east from centre of site

Plate 10:

Plate 11:

Plate 12:

Plate 13: View north over PDA from south-east corner

Plate 14: View north over PDA from southern edge of Varteg Waste (to south)

Plate 15: View west up Varteg Incline from Varteg Road

Plate 16: Forge Row, Cwmavon, from southern end

Plate 17: View east from Forge Row, Cwmavon, from southern end of row

Plate 18: View east down Varteg Incline from the western terminus

MM354Varteg Colliery Incline Catch Pit (Proposed 2014)

3133 1 Forge Row Grade II*




87618 The Dog Stone Grade II

18584 Cwmavon House Grade II

18594 4 The Bungalows Grade II




18596 Former Westlake's Brewery Grade II



MM212 Capel Newydd, Blaenavon (site of)

HLW (GT) 1 Blaenavon/Blaenafon

5 Blaenavon Industrial Landscape

324000 324500 325000 325500 326000 326500 327000 327500 328000

2050

0020

5500

2060

0020

6500

2070

0020

7500

2080

00

Varteg Hill Coal Reclamation

ProjectAppendix 1a:

Designated Assets

1:13,000Scale at A3:

L:\Archaeology\Current Jobs\17000-17999\17673 - Varteg\GIS\Map\Varteg des.mxd

© Ordnance Survey maps reproduced with the sanction of the controller of HM Stationery Office. Licence No: AL 100014723Contains, or is based upon, English Heritage's National Heritage List for England data © English Heritage.

Planning ● Heritagewww.cgms.co.uk

EP / 29.10.14

0 400m

±

Site Boundary1km RadiusListed BuildingsScheduledMonumentProposedScheduledMonument (2014)HistoricLandscape AreaWorld HeritageSite

E000954Southeast Wales Industrial Ironworks Project

E000130New Road Farm Blaenavon

E001221Field Visit, Wall on Pwll-Mawr

324000 324500 325000 325500 326000 326500 327000 327500 328000 328500

2045

0020

5000

2055

0020

6000

2065

0020

7000

2075

0020

8000

Varteg Hill CoalRecalamation Project

Appendix 1b:HER Events

data


L:\Archaeology\Current Jobs\17000-17999\17673 - Varteg\GIS\Map\Varteg HER events.mxd


EP / 17.10.14

0 450m

±

Site Boundary

1km Radius

HER eventpoint

HER eventpoly

07846g

09197g

045979,02515g

03276.1gAR8 TALYWAIN BRANCH

03276.0gBRYNMAWR-PONTYPOOL RAILWAY

03276.2gAR9 LNWR RAILWAY

03195.0gBLAENAVON-NEWPORT RAILWAY

324000 324500 325000 325500 326000 326500 327000 327500 328000

2050

0020

5500

2060

0020

6500

2070

0020

7500

2080

00

Varteg Hill CoalReclamation Project

Appendix 1c:Other HER

data


L:\Archaeology\Current Jobs\17000-17999\17673 - Varteg\GIS\Map\Varteg Other HER.mxd


EP / 17.10.14

0 400m

±

Site Boundary

1km Radius

HER tram line

HER canal line

HER rail line

HER polygons

324000 324500 325000 325500 326000 326500 327000 327500 328000

2050

0020

5500

2060

0020

6500

2070

0020

7500

2080

00


Appendix 1d:Non HER data(Ironworks)


L:\Archaeology\Current Jobs\17000-17999\17673 - Varteg\GIS\Map\Varteg Ironworks.mxd


EP / 17.10.14

0 400m

±

Site Boundary

1km Radius

IronworksExtraction site

Ironworks line

Ironworks poly

Ironworks Waterpoint

Ironworks Waterline

Ironworks Waterpoly

61854 CWMAVON HOUSE

83285 VARTEG, HOUSING

61313 POWELL TY RHODD

61765KEAR'S ROW

61697 BRYNAVALON, VARTEG

61764CROWN HOTEL

61693SNAIL CREEP

61680 1 and 2 SHOP ROAD

61506ENCLOSURE I

61953TY RHODD, ENCLOSURES

61952ENCLOSURES V

61947 FORGE HOUSE

61776 THE COTTAGE, CWMAVON

61771 LLANOVER ROAD BRIDGE

62044 VARTEG, ENCLOSURE III

61694ENCLOSURES IV

616861-2 GLYNAVON COTTAGES

61505 ENCLOSURES II

62049 STABLE HOUSES, GARDENS

61777 ROSE COTTAGES, CWMAVON

61773 WESTLAKE ARMS, CWMAVON

61317LIME KILN

61964BLAENAVON

61690LIME KILN

62135FORMER STABLE

61400 SALISBURY TERRACE

61509 CWM GLO DRIFT MINE

61396FURLONG WOOD, ENCLOSURES I

61395FURLONG WOOD, ENCLOSURE II

61966LIME KILN

61393VARTEG RESERVOIR, IRON POST

61969BUILDING I

61951 HOUSE

44389 FORGE ROW

61968RESERVOIR HOUSE

61950BRIDGE ABUTMENT

615804-13 PEMBROKE TERRACE

61304ENCLOSURES

61960BUILDING II

61683 GROVE HOUSE

61673CWMAVON HOUSE, ENCLOSURES N OF

62236PILLAR STONE

61784GARDEN WALLS

61677 BARN

62054MILEPOST

61954UNIDENTIFIED BUILDING

61858HOUSE

61681 GARDEN WALL

616853-4 GLYNAVON COTTAGES

61786COACH HOUSE AND STABLE

61779BRIDGE OVER AFON LWYD

61674WALKERS ROW FOOTBRIDGE

61593BLAENAVON RAILROAD,WALLED EMBANKMENT

62237MYNYDD VARTEG FAWRTRIANGULATION POINT

61877WEIR ON AFON LWYD

61315JUBILEE COTTAGE

61961RAILWAY BRIDGE

61782 FORMER WESTLAKE BREWERY

61682 DANYCOED & OLD SHOP FARM

61401CALCINING KILNS

61316COFFEE HOUSE TAVERN

62055DRAINAGE CHANNEL I

61775GROVE COTTAGE & LITTLE GROVE COTTAGE

61406DRAINAGE CHANNEL II

61403CULVERT

61497 BRIDGE OVER RAILWAY

61678 ABUTMENT OF BRIDGE

61320RAILWAY BRIDGE

61778 ROAD BRIDGE

61781 SLUICES AND POND

61780 WESTLAKE BREWERYFORMER MANAGER'S HOUSE

62057RAILWAY BRIDGE

61768 IVANHOE & LINCOLN HOUSE

61963 WELL CHAMBER

61769 AVONDALE & GLENVIEW

44294 WESTLAKE'S BREWERY

61684GLYNAVON COTTAGES

61783 FORMER WESTLAKE BREWERY

61787 CWMAVON HOUSE, GARDEN WALLS

61691QUARRY II INCLINE

61767 PENTRHYD

61959CWMAVON RESERVOIR, BUILDING III

61498SNAIL CREEP BRIDGE

61772SNAILCREEP TERRACE

620501-3 PEMBROKE PLACE

61501SHOP ROAD BRIDGE

61687HILL VIEW

617742 CWMAVON ROAD

61500VARTEG STATION

324000 324500 325000 325500 326000 326500 327000 327500 328000 328500

2050

0020

5500

2060

0020

6500

2070

0020

7500

2080

00


Appendix 1:RCAHMW

Monuments data(Buildings and Structures)


L:\Archaeology\Current Jobs\17000-17999\17673 - Varteg\GIS\Map\Varteg NMR buildings.mxd


EP / 17.10.14

0 400m

±

Site Boundary

1km Radius

Building

Complex

Other Structure

45265SARDIS INDEPENDENT CHAPEL

69527HIGH STREET, 6-7



69533STANLEY ROAD , 52

69612STANLEY COTS, 1-2

69616STANLEY ROAD , 53-54


87877GARNDIFFAITH WORKMEN'S HALL AND INSTITUTE

69718LION STREET, 10-1169726

LION STREET, 5-6

45365BETHEL METHODIST CHAPEL

69621CROSS STREET, 17 AND 19

69724BAILEY STREE, 15-20

69525HIGH STREET , 4

69536HIGH STREET, 14

44877NEW TABERNACLE

69722LION STREET, 2

69725LION STREET, 3

69727DAVIES COTTAGE

61305 GRAIG QUARRY I62235 GRAIG QUARRY II

61394VARTEG RESERVOIR

61314 TY RHODD, QUARRY

61311CWMAVON, COTTAGE

61309GRAIG QUARRY III

69805 CROSS ROW, VARTEG

69713 SLATE ROW, VARTEG

61970 CWMAVON RESERVOIR

61956CAPEL NEWYDD FARM

69712 SQUARE ROW, VARTEG

61949RED HOUSE

69514WALKERS ROW

62045VARTEG HILL, RAILWAY

61310FURLONG WOOD, QUARRY

61306 GRAIG QUARRY INCLINE

69626 GALLOWSGREEN, CWMAVON

69523TWENTY HOUSES

62051STABLE HOUSES

61696TWENTY HOUSES

62048PLOUGH MARKS I

62058FURLONG WOOD, COTTAGE I

62047PLOUGH MARKS II

61496GALLOWS GREEN,QUARRY I

44483CAPEL NEWYDD, BLAENAFON

62233CAPEL NEWYDD, FARM TRACK

62053GALLOWS GREEN, QUARRY II

62052VARTEG HILL, SPOIL TIP V

61967DAN-Y-CAPEL FARM, QUARRY

61948RAILWAY COTTAGE

61402VARTEG HILL, SPOIL TIP I

61397FURLONG WOOD, COTTAGE II

61578VARTEG HILL,SPOIL TIP VI

61399VARTEG HILL, SPOIL TIP II

62232UNDIENTIFIED HOUSE

61577SPOIL TIP VII

61503 MYNYDD VARTEG FACH, QUARRY

61502LNWR, ABERSYCHAN EXTENSION

61398VARTEG HILL, SPOIL TIP III

61308TYR PWCA

61302FIELD BARN I

61405FIELD BARN II

62134DAN Y CAPEL, ANIMAL HOUSE AT

61955FIELD BARN III

61392MYNYDD VARTEG FACH, SPOIL TIP

61307CAPEL NEWYDD FARM

61855CWM GLO DRIFT MINE ACCESS ROAD

61695TWENTY HOUSES

61301VARTEG FILE FACTORY,WATERCOURSE

61962ASH TREE INN

62056QUARRY I SPOIL TIP I

61785CWMAVON HOUSE, OUTBUILDING

61856VARTEG HILL COLLIERY, RAILWAY SIDING

61688QUARRY I SPOIL TIP II

61579RAILWAY INCLINE

44402CAPEL-Y-GRAIG (CALVINISTIC METHODIST)

62046MINE SLOPE BRANCH RAILWAY

44582DAN-Y-CAPEL COTTAGE

61355VARTEG WASTE

44577CWMAVON WESLEYANMETHODIST CHAPEL

61319RAILWAYMAN'S CABIN

44576ZION PENTECOSTAL CHURCH

61404VARTEG HILL COLLIERY BRANCH

44475VARTEG METHODIST CHAPEL

61507VARTEG HILL COLLIERY (EAST),UNIDENTIFIED BUILDING II

61508VARTEG HILL COLLIERY (EAST),UNIDENTIFIED BUILDING I

62234GRAIG QUARRY INCLINEWINDING ENGINE HOUSE

44583VARTEG METHODIST CHAPEL

61675WALKERS ROW

61676WALKERS ROW

62042UNIDENTIFIED BUILDING II

62043UNIDENTIFIED BUILDING I

44397 VARTEG HILL COLLIERY (EAST)

61318SPOIL TIP

61689PLOUGH MARKS

62231SPOIL TIP IV

323500 324000 324500 325000 325500 326000 326500 327000 327500 328000 328500

2045

0020

5000

2055

0020

6000

2065

0020

7000

2075

0020

8000


Appendix 1f:RCAHMW

Other monumentsdata


L:\Archaeology\Current Jobs\17000-17999\17673 - Varteg\GIS\Map\Varteg NMR other.mxd


EP / 17.10.14

0 450m

±

Site Boundary

1km Radius

Documents

Earthwork

Ruin

Topography

325000 325500 326000 326500 327000

2055

0020

6000

2065

0020

7000


Appendix 2a:Proposed development

plan:activity areaswithin the PDA

1:8,000Scale at A3:

L:\Archaeology\Current Jobs\17000-17999\17673 - Varteg\GIS\Map\Varteg Proposed development _Appendix 2.mxd


EP / 17.10.14

0 250m

±

Site Boundary

Power lines

track to farm

Limit ofexcavation

Site compound

Soil Dumps

OverburdenDumps

5 Blaenavon Industrial Landscape

325000 325500 326000 326500 327000

2055

0020

6000

2065

0020

7000


Appendix 2b:Proposed development

plan in relation toWorld Heritage Site

1:8,000Scale at A3:

L:\Archaeology\Current Jobs\17000-17999\17673 - Varteg\GIS\Map\Varteg Proposed development _Appendix 2.mxd


EP / 17.10.14

0 250m

±

Site Boundary

Power lines

track to farm

Limit ofexcavation

Site compound

Soil Dumps

OverburdenDumps

World HeritageSite

VartegH

illCoal

Reclamation

Project

Appendix

2c:Proposed

development

overextractive

features,asrecorded

in2005

GG

ATsurvey

1:8,000

Scale

atA4:

L:\Archaeology\C

urrentJobs\17000-17999\17673

-Varteg\G

IS\M

ap\VartegProposed

development

_Appendix

2G

GAT.m

xd

©O

rdnance

Survey

maps

reproduced

with

thesanction

ofthe

controllerof

HM

Stationery

Office.

Licence

No:

AL

100014723

EP/

17.10.14

0200m

±

Legend

SiteB

oundary

trackto

farm

Limitofexcavation

Sitecom

pound

SoilDum

ps

Overburden

Dum

ps

322500 323000 323500 324000 324500 325000 325500 326000 326500 327000 327500 328000 328500 329000

2025

0020

3000

2035

0020

4000

2045

0020

5000

2055

0020

6000

2065

0020

7000


Appendix 2d:Proposed development

over extractive featureswithin wider area, as

recorded in 2005GGAT survey


L:\Archaeology\Current Jobs\17000-17999\17673 - Varteg\GIS\Map\Varteg Proposed development _Appendix 2 GGAT wider.mxd


EP / 17.10.14

0 625m

±

Site Boundary

1km Radius

Limit ofexcavation

Site compound

Soil Dumps

OverburdenDumps

324000 324500 325000 325500 326000 326500 327000 327500 328000

2050

0020

5500

2060

0020

6500

2070

0020

7500


Appendix 2e:Proposed development

plan over HistoricLandscape

Characterisation Areas


L:\Archaeology\Current Jobs\17000-17999\17673 - Varteg\GIS\Map\Varteg Proposed development _Appendix 2 landscape.mxd


EP / 17.10.14

0 375m

±

Site Boundary

1km Radius

Power lines

track to farm

Limit ofexcavation

Site compound

Soil Dumps

OverburdenDumps

Historic LandsapeCharacterisation

17 Mynydd yGarn-fawr

18 CwmavonIndustrial T.C

19 MynneddVarteg Opencast

20 CoityMountain