SEVERAL ancient burial sites near Salisbury no longer risk being lost through neglect, decay or inappropriate development, according to the latest report from English Heritage.
Nineteen of Wiltshire’s significant historic sites were removed from the Heritage at Risk Register in 2014, several of which were in the Salisbury area.
Sites no longer deemed to be at risk include Croucheston Down Barn round barrow in Bishopstone, Fussell’s long barrow at Clarendon Park and round barrows at Clearbury Down and Wick Down in Downton.
Further bowl barrows in Mere, Milston and one near Sidbury Hill in Tidworth were also removed from the register. All these archaeological sites have been removed thanks to Environmental Stewardship grants from Natural England, a scheme that provides funding to farmers to manage their land in environmentally-friendly ways.
Phil Harding, of Wessex Archaeology and Channel 4’s Time Team, said that while it was good news that Wiltshire was moving in the right direction, more still needed to be done to safeguard other sites.
“With over 200 monuments at risk in Wiltshire, 19 seems like a drop in the ocean,” he said. “Obviously we don’t want any monuments at risk full stop.”
Andrew Vines, planning and conservation director for English Heritage in the South West, said: “We’re proud of our achievement this year in removing more than 140 historic sites from the register in the South West.
“We are on target nationally to save 25 per cent or 1,137 sites that were on our register in 2010 by 2015. However, we face challenges in the years ahead to help save many other at risk sites.
“Continuing to work in partnership with owners, developers, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Natural England, councils and local groups is the way we will help to safeguard the South West’s heritage for future generations.”
There are 269 sites on the Heritage at Risk Register in Wiltshire including 241 scheduled monuments or archaeological sites.
St Giles’ House on the Shaftesbury Estate in Wimborne St Giles was also removed from the register
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