HS2 rail link: archaeologists and English Heritage clash over the route through a nation's past

Discussion of it is limited to two paragraphs, and the impacts on it limited to three," says English Heritage.Buckinghamshire county council estimates that some 7,000 designated heritage assets will be affected by the London to Birmingham phase of HS2 alone. This includes ancient field boundaries and tracks, historic buildings, hamlets, villages and major archaeological sites. The actual number at risk could be far higher, since that figure excludes historic buildings, sites and remains which have no statutory protection – a large proportion of them.English Heritage has identified a series of listed historic assets of national importance that would be destroyed or badly affected by the first phase of construction. In Camden, north London, where a new terminus for HS2 is proposed for Euston station, English Heritage mentions St James's Gardens burial ground and park, last resting place of some 50,000 Londoners. Other places of concern include Doddershall medieval village site in Buckinghamshire, and a Roman villa and a wars of the roses battlefield at Edgcote, Northamptonshire, along with medieval farmhouses and pre-Roman sites.Also highlighted in English Heritage's response is Grim's Ditch, a large, ancient earthwork skirting Wendover in Buckinghamshire. Despite scheduled monument status, HS2 would run through it, destroying a 150-metre section.But the actual toll could be far higher than the English Heritage list suggests. Opponents of HS2 argue that the "damage zone" exte...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: HS2 Culture News Archaeology Heritage Environment Agency The Observer Rail transport Science UK news Source Type: news