§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will compile a register of historic military airfields; and if he will take steps to ensure their preservation. [23001]
§ Mr. BanksMy right hon. Friend has a statutory duty to compile lists of buildings of special architectural or historic interest. English Heritage, his statutory advisers on listing, are currently undertaking a thematic study of military airfields and will be making recommendations to me later this year on buildings and structures at such sites which merit listing. Consent is required before any works can be undertaken to a listed building which would affect its special interest. In addition, the Defence of Britain Project, co-ordinated by the Council for British Archaeology, is compiling a record of 20th Century military sites and structures in the UK, although inclusion on the record will not attract any additional statutory protection.
§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the historic battlefields which have been lost since 1967 through development or whose setting has been damaged. [22999]
§ Mr. BanksOn the evidence of research conducted by English Heritage in preparing their Register of Historic Battlefields, the only important battlefield site in England lost through development since 1967 is Newark (1644).
Of the 43 surviving battlefields included on the Register, the following are considered by English Heritage to have been significantly damaged by development since 1967, although not to the point of extinction:
- Adwalton Moor (1643)
- Naseby (1645)
- Neville's Cross (1346)
- Newbury I (1643)
- Northampton (1460)
- Stamford Bridge (1066)
- Tewkesbury (1471)
- Worcester/Powick Bridge (1651).
The following battlefields are considered to have suffered significant damage to their settings since 1967:
- Chalgrove (1643)
- Shrewsbury (1403).