Battle of Fulford evidence ‘would be lost’ if Germany Beck housing plan approved

The founder of the Fulford Battlefield Society invited The Press to see some of the Norse arrowheads, axeheads, anvils and sharpening stones he has discovered on parts of the site where York’s biggest housing development is planned.

He claimed the items had come from hearths set up in the days after the 1066 battle to recycle weapons recovered from the scene.

He said he believed many more weapons would be discovered if he was allowed to conduct a major archaeological dig.

He claimed: “It is not overstating it to say this is a Pompeii moment for battlefield archaeology.”

His comments came as City of York Council’s planning committee prepares to consider Persimmon’s reserved matters application for 650 homes at a meeting tomorrow.

Outline planning permission was granted in 2007 following a public inquiry, but Mr Jones said important evidence had since emerged, which meant this week’s decision should at least be deferred until English Heritage had completed a review of an original decision not to designate the site as the battlefield.

He has now written to the chief executives of City of York Council and of English Heritage, claiming they were “hiding behind some carefully crafted words that do not address the evidence”.

He said they needed to explain why they were defying planning rules and allowing building on a site that English Heritage had repeatedly stated was the probable location of the battle.

City archaeologist John Oxley has said that, despite all the work carried out by the developer and the Battlefield Society, the site where the Battle of Fulford was fought could still not be closely defined.

He said he considered that conditions imposed by the Secretary of State when development was approved dealt adequately with the impact it would have on archaeological deposits, and he was content for the reserved matters application to go to the committee tomorrow.