Representation by Neville Doe
- Date submitted
- 22 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Our ref: PL00764682 PINs Ref: TR020001 The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England (HBMCE) is better known as Historic England, and we are the Government’s adviser on all aspects of the historic environment in England - including historic buildings and areas, archaeology and historic landscape. We have a duty to promote conservation, public understanding and enjoyment of the historic environment. We are an executive Non-Departmental public body and we answer to Parliament through the Secretary of State for Digital Culture, Media and Sport. We can confirm Historic England’s have been party to extensive pre-application discussions with regards to this proposal. The Proposal The proposal concerns the expansion of the exiting airport to increase overall passenger capacity from 18 million passengers per annum (mppa) to 32 mppa. The works include: • Extension and remodelling of the existing passenger terminal; • Construction of a new terminal and associated facilities. • Construction of additional airside and landside facilities • Additional/enhanced transport (road and rail) infrastructure Representation We summarise our representation regarding this proposed project as follows. Please note we do not intend to attend the preliminary hearing, we will however be submitting full written representation at the appropriate date. 1. Introduction We note the applicant has provided a full Environmental Statement which includes a detailed historic environment chapter (Chapter 10) and our written representation will comment more fully on the ES in due course. However for the purposes of this representation our key considerations are summarised below 2. Historic Environment We are aware the proposed development lies in a highly sensitive area for the historic environment. Although there are no designated heritage assets within the actual site, there are various heritage assets in relative proximity whose settings may be affected. Of particular pertinence to our statutory remit are the impacts in terms of setting upon Luton Hoo Registered Park and Garden (grade I); and Someries Castle (Scheduled Monument). It was agreed during the pre-application process that detailed assessment of the historic environment would be required for the application, and a number of specific measures were recommended and undertaken. This includes a Desk Based Assessment of the impact of the proposal on the settings of heritage assets and supporting material including visualisations and noise/vibration studies. The information provided is of a high standard and we broadly accept the conclusions and, further detailed comments will also be provided in our written representation. 3. Summary Historic England’s primarily concern is to ensure that the historic environment is adequately and appropriately considered within the submitted ES, and that any concerns we have previously raised have been addressed. Likewise, that the DCO is worded to ensure appropriate mitigation for the historic environment and the dissemination of the result. Our full written representation will therefore make further, detail comment with regards to the impact of the scheme upon.