Archaeological Research Services Ltd (ARS Ltd) were commissioned to undertake archaeological evaluation trenching in partial fulfilment of conditions 10 and 11 of planning consent for application NP/DDD/0822/1009. The intended development of this part of the Riverside Business Park (RBP) will see the construction of five new industrial units (12-15) with associated parking and access. A series of nine archaeological evaluation trenches excavated in July 2022 in order to asses the presence, survival and significance of archaeological remains in an area of former 19th century millponds, prior to the redevelopment of the site. All of the evaluation trenches produced evidence of archaeological remains, at depths below 0.6m ground level which relate to the 19th century water management systems on site. These features broadly correspond with and confirm the arrangement of ponds shown on the 1824 estate map of the site. The features primarily represent a range of embankments, culverts and overflow drainage systems which appear to relate to the original edges of the ponds. A single infilled drainage channel within the upper sediments of the filled in ponds also represents a transitional feature following the initial disuse of the ponds and contained a range of dumped materials. Detailed recording within some of the trenches could not be undertaken due to high groundwater and contaminants, including asbestos.
Parker et al. (Sun,) studied this question.