2023:792 - 59-63 North Street, Carrickfergus, Antrim

The site is located close to the northern boundary of the old walled town, at 59-63 North Street, Carrickfergus, within the zone of archaeological potential associated with the town. A pre-development site meeting with the project design team and representatives from Historic Environment Division (HED) took place on 9 February 2023. Part of those discussions centered on the requirement for the results of geotechnical investigations to inform the layout and design of the proposed project foundations. There was a particular emphasis on developing, if possible, a foundation regime which would allow for preservation in situ of the potentially significant archaeological features and deposits which were thought likely to survive within the boundaries of the site. In response to the comments from HED at the site meeting, a programme of works was proposed to accompany a license application to attend the geotechnical works. It was proposed to attend all geotechnical works on site, to consist of three 150mm diameter bore holes, each drilled using a dando terrier 2002 and one test pit measuring 1.5m by 1.5m. An archaeological license was issued, with the works taking place on 21 April 2023.

On foot of the results of the archaeological works, it is proposed that the new ground floor level will be at 9m OD with the base of formation level at 8.46m OD, with the majority of ground works above the level of potentially in-situ archaeological deposits at 8.38m OD. With the proposed floor levels raised, archaeological impacts are limited to the construction of the lift shaft pit and the insertion of the 61 350mm diameter piles. The combined area to be disturbed is therefore 4m2 for the lift shaft and 6m2 for the combined area of the piles, together making a total of 10m2, which is 1.5% of the total development area, well within the Historic England target of 5% of the total site, to be seen as the upper limit of loss from foundation construction.