Battle for Britain’s ‘Atlantis’: Locals go to war with developers who want to build 158 new homes on site of fabled Iron Age settlement
- A developer is poised to build 158 homes on the site at Thornton, near Blackpool
As an archaeological treasure trove, it was once dubbed the ‘Atlantis of the Coast’ over its historical promise.
Today Bourne Hill at Thornton, near Blackpool, is at the centre of a tug-of-war between families living nearby and the council and developers wanting to build on it.
The Lancashire spot has been selected by Warrington-based Eccleston Homes to develop 158 houses.
Amazing drone photographs show the extent of archaeological excavations at the site in recent years.
Wyre Council said in June it would grant planning permission, subject to a number of conditions.
It means the site – which supporters call a ‘miracle in its existing form’ – looks almost certain to be used for the houses.
But families living nearby say it will bring an end to evidence through the years of an Iron Age settlement as well as Roman occupation.
Bourne Hill at Thornton, near Blackpool, is at the centre of a tug-of-war over its future use. Above: Archaeological excavations at the site
The Lancashire spot has been selected by Warrington-based Eccleston Homes to develop 158 houses.
Oxford Archaeology North have been commissioned by the developer for an archaeological survey to satisfy one of the planning conditions.
OAN’s Paul Dunn said: ‘Unlike other Iron Age sites in Lancashire we have found ceramics and pottery in Bourne Hill.’
He added to the BBC that there are ‘significant signs’ of a ‘long occupation from the Iron Age to Roman Britain’.
It is understood that once the survey and all significant items are removed, the planning will be rubber-stamped and building will begin.
A spokesperson for the Save Bourne Hill campaign said: ‘The real issue is not a few pieces of broken Roman pots, prehistoric tools, nor even the remains of Iron Age people buried there, it is not only the traces of large Roundhouses and the early metal working of their inhabitants.
‘It is not just the mediaeval musket balls from historic battle, nor the .303 cartridges of soldiers training in WW2. Its significance is greater than the words of Ptolemy, the first Roman historian to describe our land and the port here, on Wyre.
‘If just collecting prehistoric artefacts was enough, we could put Stonehenge in a museum and build a housing estate on the site…and these developers probably would.
‘The real value and significance of Bourne Hill is the place itself. It is totally unique, geologically and culturally, no other place of its kind has ever existed on the Wyre peninsula, where it has been the only such refuge and vantage point above the flat, wetland marshes for those who have stood upon it since the Ice Age.
One of the aerial plans for the proposed development. Eccleston Homes wants to build 158 properties
A mock-up of how some of the homes are expected to look in the new development
Families living nearby say any development will bring an end to evidence through the years of an Iron Age settlement as well as Roman occupation
Oxford Archaeology North have been commissioned by the developer for an archaeological survey to satisfy one of the planning conditions
Save Bourne Hill say a stand must be taken to stop every local green field from being lost and built on
Another stunning aerial photograph shows the extent of the Iron Age settlement
Bourne Hill was once dubbed the ‘Atlantis of the Coast’ over its historical promise locally
Eccleston Homes wants to put up 158 houses, together with parking and public open spaces on the site
‘On it and around it, our remaining species of protected birds, mammals, and amphibians cling to life, as we bulldoze their vanishing habitat.
MP Paul Maynard has asked Wyre Council to intervene and halt all work until investigations are concluded and made Historic England aware of the finds
‘The miracle of Bourne Hill is that it still exists in its original form, to this very day. There is not and never has been, any other such Hill, upon which we can stand above this low, flat land of the Wyre peninsula and see exactly the same ring of distant hills and moorlands that our ancient ancestors saw, from this same spot over 2,000 years ago.
‘This is the last and only place of its kind that has not already been built over.
‘The archaeology and geology make it unique and irreplaceable and no amount of greenwashing will excuse or make up for its loss.’
Eccleston Homes wants to put up 158 houses, together with parking and public open spaces on the site.
They will be a mix of one bed apartments, two, three and four bed semi, detached and terraced properties.
Around 30 per cent of them will be affordable homes, the plans claim.
MP Paul Maynard has also intervened to try and get the development paused.
He said: ‘I have asked the Secretary of State to support the designation of Bourne Hill as a scheduled ancient monument, preventing development on the site.
‘I have also asked Wyre Council to intervene and halt all work until investigations are concluded and made Historic England aware of the finds.
‘Ultimately we must wait for the Oxford Archaeology North team to present their findings to determine the significance of the site. I want to be reassured nothing will be lost in the intervening time.’
Wyre Council said in statement planning permission had not yet been granted.
A spokesman said: ‘Wyre’s planning committee recommended approval at the committee meeting of June 2023, subject to a Section 106 (S106) agreement.
‘A S106 agreement is currently being finalised on the infrastructure requirements of local service providers such as Lancashire County Council and the NHS. In this instance, money has been requested to support the reconfiguration and extension of Thornton Medical Centre and Beechwood surgery, to contribute towards play equipment on the recreational land on Bourne Way and to improve highway safety.
‘Once the S106 is agreed, planning permission can be granted, which includes a condition relating to archaeological finds and excavations. Oxford Archaeology North have been commissioned by the developer to conduct an archaeological survey and are currently preparing the post excavation report to satisfy this planning condition.
If the developers’ plans go ahead, much of the site could be lost forever
Eccleston Homes wants to put up 158 houses, together with parking and public open spaces on the site
It is understood that once the survey and all significant items are removed, the planning will be rubber-stamped and building will begin
Bourne Hill was excavated in 2005 and the remains of an Iron Age settlement were discovered
The settlement comprised roundhouses, defensive earthworks, a triangular entrance and cobbled track
Oxford Archaeology North have been commissioned by the developer for an archaeological survey to satisfy one of the planning conditions
Experts said there are ‘significant signs’ of a long occupation of the site dating back to the Iron Age
Campaigners say that areas of historical significance will be ‘lost forever’ if the homes are built
‘The report will detail all of the archaeological works conducted, together with the results and analysis of the findings and once finalised, will be made available to the public providing valuable insight into these discoveries.
‘We have visited the site this week and have held discussions with the developer to reiterate that work cannot commence until all conditions are discharged and we would like to reassure the public once more that all work so far has proceeded in accordance with the standard process for managing archaeological sites in the planning process.
‘The council has relied, as it always does, on the expertise of a specialist archaeology planning officer from Lancashire County Council’s Historic Environment Team throughout this process.’
But for Save Bourne Hill campaigners the insistence that all finds will be saved provide only crumbs of comfort.
Their spokesperson added: ‘If these unsustainable and indefensible construction schemes are allowed to go ahead, for the first time since humans came to our land, Bourne Hill and all of its deep meaning for heritage, life, memory and culture will cease to exist, lost forever under bricks and concrete.
‘Unless we stop it now, every local green field and refuge for life and nature in our land will be lost with it.
‘Please, help us now, to save what little is left of our nature, before it is destroyed.’
Source: Read Full Article
