2023:293 - Rathfriland, Down

This Archaeological Impact Assessment was undertaken on behalf of Rathbane (IOM) Holdings Ltd, in response to a proposed development on lands to the rear of 87-95 Newry Street, Rathfriland, consisting of an integrated medical village, associated services, access roads and carpark and to create a new entrance in the terrace of buildings fronting onto Newry Street.
In their 13th August 2019 response to information submitted with the planning application, Historic Environment Division (HED) considered the impacts of the proposal on the listed building and was content it satisfied Paragraph 6.12 of Strategic Policy Planning Statement for Northern Ireland and Policy BH 11 (Development affecting the Setting of a Listed Building) of the Department's Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning, Archaeology and the Built Heritage. HED also stated that it concurred with the proposed archaeological mitigation strategy contained in the submitted Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA).
The AIA proposed to test the proposed development area via a series of 33, 1.8m-wide, machine-dug test trenches, which ranged from 70m in length down to 10m, and set 10m apart, and covered the entire footprint of the proposed development.
Work took place in June-July 2023. The results of the AIA revealed nothing of archaeological significance apart from the presence of a quarry pit and a late 19th-or early 20th-century brick kiln, both of which had been recorded on the OS 3rd edition map. The quarry pit had remained open and in use as a dump until the middle of the 20th century. The remains of the brick kiln were limited to its basal layers.
The area of the kiln was backfilled for its protection and, with the permission of the relevant heritage authorities, will be returned to, for total excavation in advance of any future developments on the site.

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