2023:432 - Gaelscoil Naomh Enna, Hightown Road, Antrim

Full planning permission is being sought for the development of lands approximately 245m south of the existing St. Enda’s Gaelic Athletic Club (‘GAC’) clubhouse, Hightown Road, Glengormley, consisting of proposed new 7-classroom primary school and nursery unit for Gaelscoil & Naíscoil Éanna (replacement of existing Gaelscoil & Naíscoil Éanna), associated site works, infrastructure (including PV panels, Waste Water Treatement Works) and landscaping, with access from Hightown
Road, Glengormley.
In their response, HED noted the presence on the northern part of the site of possible cropmarks; this, and the location of the proposal close to the Belfast Hills, led HED to state that in order to assess the acceptability of the proposal to the relevant planning policies, they required an Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA), which should focus on the anomalous cropmarks within the application site and should be informed by an archaeological site evaluation comprising a phase of archaeological test trenching to assess the archaeological significance of these features.
The AIA consisted of the machine excavation of 17 test trenches, 10 across the northern field and 7 across the south. Each trench was 1.8m wide and ranged between 86m and 55m in length, positioned so as to cover the entire footprint of the proposed development.
The results of the AIA revealed nothing of archaeological significance. It appears that differential natural drainage across the northern field may be the cause of the crop marks noted on the aerial photographs. The only features of note uncovered were agricultural in origin, consisting of field
boundaries recorded on the Ordinance Survey 2nd edition, and stone-filled land drains.

AHC Ltd 36 Ballywillwill Road, Castlewellan Co Down BT31 9LF