Another mass grave under Shrewsbury incinerator site?
Wednesday 5th October 2011, 3:21PM BST.
A second mass grave and a medieval brick kiln could be lying underneath the Battle of Shrewsbury site, an archaeologist has claimed.
Stephen Timms, who has been commissioned by the Battlefield 1403 visitor centre to give evidence against Veolia’s plans for a £60 million incinerator in the area, said thorough investigations need to be carried out before any such scheme is even considered on the site.
He was speaking at a planning inquiry into the proposed burner which resumed yesterday at Shirehall following a break over the weekend.
Mr Timms said an aerial photograph of the battlefield site had raised the possibility that there could be a brick kiln – a furnace in which bricks are baked or burned – in the area dating to around the period of the battle.
He also said there was a chance there could be a second mass grave somewhere on the site which would be of national significance if it was discovered.
Mr Timms also told planning inspector John Woolcock, who is overseeing the appeal hearing, that he did believe an archaeological report carried out for Veolia did not contain sufficient information for Shropshire Council to make an informed decision about archaeology on the site.
He said: “If there was another mass grave located on the site then obviously depending on its state and extent it would be considered to be nationally important.
“I think the situation at present is that there are sufficient questions regarding the extent and significance of the archaeology on the site that really warrants further investigation.”
Mr Timms also claimed that if construction work began on the site, modern equipment such as bulldozers and other machines could cause damage to important artefacts.
Niall Blackie, representing Battlefield 1403, earlier told the inquiry that the creation of an incinerator would damage the look of the historic site.
Mr Blackie stressed that the Battle of Shrewsbury was an important part of English history and claimed that siting a burner close to the site would cause ‘substantial harm’.
Waste firm Veolia wants to build the facility at Battlefield Enterprise Park and has launched an appeal against Shropshire Council’s strategic planning committee’s decision to unanimously reject the scheme in 2010.
The firm says its development could generate enough power to supply 10,000 homes.
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i tell you this if this burner goes ahead there will be a mass grave in shrewsbury from the people who breathe in that smoke
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What utter tosh, with the proposed filtration there will be likely to be a lot less polution than comes off the multitude of HGVs driving past the site on the A49/53 everyday.
I’m tickled by this latest rabbit out of the hat, it sounds more and more like Dibley everyday.
I’m just waiting for some Owen the farmer to turn up with some newly found species that only lives on the site.
35 years living in the area and they never cease to amaze me.
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Interesting that it’s planned for one of the most disadvantaged parts of town. There would be a v different debate if it were going to be sited on St Johm’s Hill.
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Katherine, darling, it’s ten to four in the morning. Come (back) to bed, please.
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Katherine “one of the most disadvantaged parts of town ” Please explain!!!!!
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Strange how they suddenly come up with this amazing ‘find’ just when a planning enquiry is being heard. I suppose it just didn’t cross their minds to reveal their suspicions in the previous 608 years?
What next ? They’ve found Lord Lucan, Shergar and Glen Miller?
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Spot on Jon, talk about clutching at straws.
When will the good people of Shrewsbury understand that they have to become responsible for their own rubbish, rather than just dumping it on someone else.
I think it’s quite safe to say that over the last few millenia, a battle of some sort has taken place on most fields in this country.
What make a field next to a known battle field any different to the others? Nothing.
Quit standing in the way of progress Shrewbury!!
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Quite…………
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Where ? (Have i missed something!)
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I am surprised that the firm didnt say that its development could generate enough power to supply 10,000 LOCAL homes.
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“raised the possibility that there could be a brick kiln” & “a chance there could be a second mass grave somewhere”
Mr Timms evidence seems a bit vague I’d say!
I’ll use similar terms to explain to my wife that our garden can not be prepared for winter (I hate that task) “because the POSSIBILITY or the CHANCE there COULD be a brick kiln under the lawn!
I’ll let you know how I get on!
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If the prunings not done by 6:30 tonight, your dinner’s in the dog!
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I do not think you have fully considered the evidence – is there an appeal procedure :)
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It’s OK, I’ve got some here you can have
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i think this is further evidence why this monsterous constuction is the wrong development, at the wrong time and in the wrong place. I would be more concerned though with highlighting its departure from the local plan which is absolute in legal terms, as an objector I think this is the key point they should ram home on the inspector, its not in the local plan, in fact the local plan specifically EXCLUDES it! So its the whole planning system and democracy up in smoke if it does go ahead then any developer from anywhere can build anything they like anywhere in shropshire it will open up the floodgates to further unsustainable development
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who on earth gave permission for an incinerator to be built so close to a built up area, and on an historic site. surely these plans should be called in by the secretary of state for the environment for another look. once again shropshire council cannot be trusted to run a whelk stall, let alone look after the county town and its environs
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Er, no one gave permission. Shropshire Council rejected the scheme last year; Veolia are simply appealing against that decision. Try reading the article, if you can.
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I am opposed to this because it is a complete white elephant, not needed anyway and so expensive in these economic times. It is also not good for the environment
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1000 years of heritage up in smoke
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only a moron would sign up to a 25 year contract for waste when packaging, lifestyle and materials are so changable, think about it, 25 years ago we were using almost no plastic, no i phones, flat screen tv’s etc, everyone had a daily newspaper and ate fresh food with no packaging, now look at us, well in 25 years time it will be just as different again, its crazy not to have flexibility by locking into long term contracts to just burn everything
some of the stuff they want to burn (cans, plastics, paper, food waste even) will be worth thousands of pounds per tonne in a years to come!
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[who on earth gave permission for an incinerator to be built so close to a built up area,]
Well Jack, the arguments were made, especially it being right next to a college full of young people but it went ahead and has been polluting us with all sorts of toxins including nasties like mercury, for the last 40+ years.
The co-op are being leased the Shrewsbury crematorium and are shortly going to upgrade the chimney so I am led to believe, to higher EU standards, at quite a hefty price.
As they are no longer in charge of this particular incinerator, the town council are rushing around trying to justify their allowances and taking credit for all sorts of other town affairs such as the recent surge of interest in the market hall.
As young people are returning fron uni with no job prospects and people are beig made redundant daily it is not surprising the cheaper market stalls are suddenly more popular.
Sorry jack you probably weren’t referring to the crem incinerator, silly me! I was confused as the Veolia proposal hasn’t got permission that’s why we are having an inquiry.
The county council made a deal and have a contract with Veolia and the town council have refused the permission against officer advice, so we are going to pay a lot for this either way it goes.
We will still continue to be polluted by our busy crem and the thousands of cars on the road each day, whatever happens.
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sorry if i confused any body but i live in devon but was born in shrewsbury and i follow shropshire star news on my laptop. irrespective of who did or did not give permission, this is surely the wrong place to site an incinerator so close to residents, the town of shrewsbury and if you please on a war grave. i do hope your planning enquiry come to a sensible decision.
save the wakeman school
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If we didn’t have a crematorium then where would we live Jack, there would not be enough space for all the graves, war dead or otherwise.
So you think that the Shrewsbury Crematorium should be moved elsewhere, away from the college and all the houses?
Or maybe you think we should land fill that aspect of our waste too?
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this is another disaster for shropshire council in terms of organisation, pr and community engagement, they are suing themselves because they refused permission for their own waste disposal facility! talk about right arm not knowing what the left is doing etc, unbeleivable, someone senior there should be sacked for not overseeing all this in a joint co-ordination type role, some one must be in charge of both planning and waste, they should sort this mess out not burden taxpayers with an expensive trial
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hope it gets thrown out, i wouldnt be able to relax knowing that the air there is full of dioxins, it makes you sick with worry as well as cancer in the longer term
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There’s sound evidence that they will find oil should the archaeologists dig. It will obviously be below the diamond, coal and gold seams.
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say NO to this Now or we will all be in a mass grave sooner than we think living in the shadows of this
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