D.O.R.C.H. (Defend Our Rich Cultural Heritage) is a group of Dorchester residents concerned at the lack of care shown towards the town’s extraordinary historic and literary legacy by local government and commerce. Currently we are attempting to publicise the little-known fact that West Dorset District Council and the developers, Simons, are pressing ahead with Phase 2 of the Charles Street development without first carrying out the full and comprehensive archaeological investigation which was promised to, and approved by, English Heritage in 2007.
The site lies within the Roman walls of Dorchester, and its archaeology is likely to include vital clues to the town’s past, from prehistoric times to the present, all of which will be destroyed as the proposed development includes underground car parking. Now it would appear that the Council has decided to squander a major opportunity to explore and enhance the understanding of Dorchester’s history. Instead of a thorough investigation of what remains below ground level, much of the archaeology is to be removed to landfill with the bare minimum of investigation.
The developers commissioned consultants Cotswold Archaeology to provide a ‘Cultural Heritage Assessment’ which rated the site as being only of ‘medium’ importance, despite the fact that it is bounded on one side by the remains of Dorchester’s Roman bath-house, and on another by a unique and internationally important Neolithic (5000 BC) henge monument.
This report contained many factual errors and omissions, and its ‘fitness for purpose’ has been questioned by former County Archaeologist, and ex-President of the British Archaeological Association, Laurence Keen OBE. By their own admission the consultants’ assessment was ‘refined in order to reduce expenditure and maintain the economic viability of the development scheme’.
The Council appears determined to see the project through at any cost. So far this has included over £4million of ratepayers’ money to keep the developers interested, and to subsidise any ‘financial gap to viability’ – now it seems as if it will also be at the cost of our town’s heritage, and the future opportunity for generations of residents, visitors, students and historians to enjoy, study and understand this vital part of Dorchester’s history.
On Tuesday 13 January, commenting on the current ‘Detailed Archaeological Design’ for archaeological work submitted by Simons, an English Heritage spokesman said:
‘We reluctantly agreed to the town centre redevelopment on the basis that the archaeology would be fully excavated and recorded prior to being destroyed to make way for new, underground, car parking. We understand that the developer considers a full excavation to be too expensive, and wants to revise the scheme to limit archaeological investigation and recording. There is only one opportunity to record the extremely rich archaeological heritage of this town centre site. If the developer is unable to commit to full excavation, we suggest their car parking proposals are revised to omit the underground element, preserving the archaeology in situ beneath the surface of the scheme.’
Worryingly, Dorset County Council’s senior archaeologist, Steve Wallis, is on record as having expressed the opinion that ‘English Heritage has expertise in this side of things, but ultimately it will be a decision for WDDC, who may well seek advice from economic experts as well’.
An online petition started by D.O.R.C.H. at https://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/DORCH to ensure that a full and comprehensive archaeological investigation is carried out before the development starts raised 2,500 signatures in under a week.
See our facebook page at www.facebook.com/savedorch
