Fears HS2 will ruin ancient sites
ACTION GROUP RAISES CONCERN THAT AREAS OF UNDISCOVERED ARCHEOLOGICAL INTEREST COULD BE HARMED BY HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINK
This is a very significant area and to destroy remains would be a tremendous loss in terms of cultural heritage. Richard Lloyd
FRESH fears have been raised that the HS2 rail link could destroy undiscovered archaeological sites.
Last week, Richard Lloyd, from the Heart of England High Speed Railway Action Group, voiced serious concerns about the harm the project could do to the region’s rich history, which includes strong links with the Anglo Saxons.
Mr Lloyd said that an enormous amount of land was being opened up for the first time, but the types of discoveries likely in rural areas between Coventry and Solihull would probably go unnoticed by construction teams.
His fear was that workers would just “dig through” things they did not know were there, which he described as “unacceptable.”
HS2 Ltd has argued that the development actually offered a “once-in-ageneration” opportunity to uncover thousands of years of history and the company said it would be keen to link up with concerned groups.
Although Mr Lloyd still has concerns about the ramifications of such a large-scale project, which were raised at Solihull Council’s HS2 Implementation Advisory Group.
He said: “The idea that building contractors are going to scrape away the top-soil and identify changes in soil density or pick up small fragments of artefacts is just nonsense. They’re just going to destroy it.
“There is reference to consulting experts, having opinions that there is nothing there. Well can we have those reports and can we have the names of these referees, and these authorities which declare the area is blank?
“Because I think that’s a conversation we can have at local level as to whether we will accept those results.”
Mr Lloyd said that the Midlands was steeped in history and had been well populated during ‘the Dark Ages’ – the period which followed the decline of the Roman Empire, characterised by the lack of written records.
“We here are in the heartlands of ancient Mercia... and you can tell by the place names that it is entirely Saxon.
“And that Saxon occupation of the area must have started, judging by the density, before the Romans packed up and went home in 400 AD or whenever they left.
“This is a very significant area... very little is known and to destroy what remains in the soil, which could indicate settlements and particularly boundaries, would be a tremendous loss in terms of cultural heritage.” Jonathan Lord, HS2 Ltd’s senior area engagement manager, said that archaeological groups in Warwickshire had been taken out to survey sites and the firm would be keen to have a similar arrangement in Solihull.
“We’ve got some fantastic archaeological experts, some of the best in the business, for HS2. They love talking to communities and groups about the work we are doing with the surveys.
“[The project] is the biggest archaeological dig, certainly in the UK, which is happening now. There’s some fantastic outcomes that are already being revealed.
“We may find things, and we have found things, which we didn’t know were there.
“And I think getting that message out, in terms of giving you assurance that we are taking it incredibly seriously.”
The local area’s Anglo Saxon connections received fresh publicity a few years ago, after a successful campaign by residents in Chelmsley Wood to rename a new village centre Chelmund’s Cross.
Ceolmund or Chelmund was reputed to be a landowner, from whose name the modern-day area is derived.