TV historian adds voice to hillfort campaign

A television historian has given his support to a campaign against plans to build homes close to a historic Iron Age hillfort.

Professor Michael Wood, who presented The Great British Story – A People’s History on BBC2, has expressed concern over plans to build houses within “the fascinating historic landscape” of Old Oswestry Hillfort.

He has formally objected to plans for up to 120 homes planned by Galliers Homes for land within 300m of the hillfort as well as Wat’s Dyke.

In a letter of objection to Shropshire Council planners, he wrote: “Recently, I have followed with concern the proposed developments.

“The Iron Age hillfort of Old Oswestry is generally agreed to be the finest site of its kind in the Welsh Borders.

“Professor Sir Cyril Fox in 1934 called Old Oswestry ‘the outstanding work of Early Iron Age type’ and  Sir Nikolaus Pevsner in his classic guide The Buildings of Britain described it simply as ‘superb’.

“Any development that threatens its setting, as this self-evidently does, in my view, therefore, should be refused.”

The TV historian also described how as a child he would holiday in Oswestry with relatives, remembering his ‘visits to the hillfort in its magical setting’.

He added that Oswestry’s northern gateway around the hillfort “is an extraordinarily interesting – and rare – example of a medieval sacred landscape, which still awaits detailed research and survey”.

This is in addition to the area’s multi-phase heritage interest ranging from pre-Iron Age to World War One military archaeology.

 In the two-page letter, he continued: “Permission for new housing like this can also set a precedent for further development, and very swiftly a historic landscape can be so encroached upon that its archaeology is damaged, its meaning is diminished, and the pleasure of the experience for visitors is seriously impaired.”

He concluded: “Even if the proposed plan does not actually ‘touch’ the hillfort, this does not mean that it won’t cause damage to one of the great historic landscapes of the Welsh Borders.

“The local authority needs to carefully consider the national importance and the tourism value of the hillfort within the wider context of the Oswestry Heritage Gateway, including the rich historical connections that can be traced to sites across the town, on which more undoubtedly remains to be discovered.”

Professor Wood’s impassioned words follow shortly after comments by Cressida Cowell, award-winning author of the How to Train Your Dragon series, who has also spoken out against the proposals. Recently announced as the new Waterstones Children’s Laureate, she revealed that Old Oswestry and its Iron Age landscape had helped inspire her latest bestseller, The Wizards of Once.
Members of the public as well as local consultees and national heritage organisations have lodged more than 130 objections against plans to infill the hillfort’s near setting with 120 houses.

The primary heritage consultee, Historic England, has raised numerous issues with the planning applications, expressing its ‘serious concerns’ over the master planning and design. Oswestry Town Council, Selattyn & Gobowen Parish Council, Cambrian Heritage Railways, Oswestry and Border History and Archaeology Group (OBHAG) have also all objected.

A spokeswoman for campaign group Hands Off Old Oswestry Hillfort (HOOOH), said: “To have highly-respected academics like Professor Wood speaking out against this short-sighted scheme is very clear evidence of the undisputed importance of Old Oswestry and its surrounding heritage landscape.

“Any form of development, let alone one so large, that will wreak damage on heritage so important and rare is a matter of national interest, especially when houses can be built elsewhere.

“At a time when Oswestry’s long term housing targets have been revised down and new land has come forward, we think that the case is stronger than ever for these planning applications to be called in by the government.”

Campaigners say that, while the formal deadline has passed, people can still submit objections via Shropshire Council’s planning portal ahead of the determination date currently advertised as September 16.