14 C O N T E X T 1 2 2 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 1 The estate comprises the built estate, including barracks, naval bases, depots and airfields; the housing estate, with some 49,000 service family homes; and the defence training estate, which includes UK training areas and ranges. The DIO’s top priority is to support the UK’s armed forces and ensure they have the best possible facilities to enable them to prepare for operations.The organisation believes in proactive stewardship of the estate. It aims to provide an estate of the right size and quality, which is managed and developed effectively in line with acknowledged best practice, and in a manner which is sensitive to social and environmental considerations. The conservation issues associated with such a diverse estate are many and varied. I once had a phone call from a property manager who rang up in a bit of a panic saying that he had lost a listed building. Actually he had ‘lost’ a tiny listed boundary stone hidden in long grass.Another measurement is that of structure footprint. Some of the largest are theVictorian Palmerston Forts.The scheduled and listed Tregantle Fort in Cornwall has an area of 5.7 hectares (14.08 acres) and its neighbour Scraesdon Fort a size of 12.63 hectares (31.2 acres). Salisbury Plain is the single largest training estate in the UK. Covering 38,000 hectares (approximately the size of the Isle of Wight), it is 40 kilometres wide and 15 kilometres north to south.Within this area there are the conflicting demands of conservation – whether the natural environment (the majority is SSSI designated), historic buildings such as farm houses or the 306 schedulings across the plain.All of these have to be incorporated within the military usage and training requirements of troops about to leave for overseas operations. One particularly effective technique for the most sensitive archaeological features is to both palisade around them, and also create meaningful military obstacles in the form of minefield designations. Any vehicle entering a protected area will be electronically ‘blown up’ – a powerful disincentive to venturing in. Another purely practical but beneficial conservation measure is that no metal detecting by the public is allowed on the MoD estate, in order to avoid the danger of digging up unexploded ordnance. Despite the recent legislative programme which means that Crown land is now subject to the Planning Acts, the Crown estate still has Crown exemption for scheduled monuments. In practice the MoD seeks permission from English Heritage through a parallel process known as scheduled monument clearance (rather than consent). Because of the changes to planning law in 2006, the MoD, like all other landowners of listed properties, or assets in conservation areas, must gain the required permissions for works. Given the range of listed and scheduled structures, it is not surprising there is extensive consultation with English Heritage and the other devolved administrations Historic Scotland, Cadw and Northern Ireland Environment Agency. These consultations range from regular formal meetings and discussions to informal site meetings. English Heritage has its own department to cover all the government estate – of which the MoD forms a major part – called the Government Historic Estate Unit (GHEU), with a dedicated team to guide and help those responsible for historic buildings. The GHEU, on behalf of the Department of Culture Media and Sport, produces policy for the English Government Estate, the main document being the Protocol for the Care of the Government Estate 2009. This has 11 requirements, including commissioning regular condition surveys and nominating a heritage officer. As well as external legislation and guidance, the MoD has its own policies and procedures in dealing with its historic estate, from the highest level of the Sustainable Development Strategy down to individual site policies. The government is seeking to reduce the size of the publicly owned estate, so the DIO keeps its land assets under constant review in order to provide the services with an estate of the right size and quality.This approach identifies sites for disposal. Some are small plots of land which are remnants of former sites, while others are large barracks or airfield sites. English Heritage advises against dividing major sites with heritage assets into The Thor missile site, listed in 2011 as Grade II*, is the best preserved of the 20 Thor missile sites in the UK.
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