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The Avebury complex of sites and monuments, situated on the edge of the Marlborough Downs in north eastern Wiltshire, represents a unique surviving example of outstanding human endeavour in Neolithic times and later. Avebury Henge, Stone Circles and associated sites, seen in juxtaposition to later historic features - small villages, designed parklands and large manor houses, greatly contribute to a distinctive historic and cultural landscape. The particularly rich assemblage of archaeological sites, both visible and buried, provides a vivid record of past landscape patterns and use. Indeed, these monuments and features have exerted a considerable visual and cultural influence on the surrounding landscape for almost 5, 000 years. Since 1987, the outstanding universal value of the Avebury complex has been recognised by its inscription, together with Stonehenge, as a World Heritage Site (WHS) under the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. |
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 Avebury Henge under snow. Photo: RCHME © Crown copyright |
The boundary of the Avebury WHS encloses an area of 22.5 square kilometres around the six key prehistoric monuments in the care of the state (in “Guardianship”) which form the basis of the WHS designation. These monuments are: Avebury Henge and Stone Circles; Windmill Hill; Silbury Hill; West Kennet Long Barrow; West Kennet Avenue; the Sanctuary. These monuments are managed by the National Trust who own and manage just under a third of the WHS for the purposes of permanent preservation and public access. The rest of the WHS is in multiple ownership and is an intensely farmed landscape with a thriving local village at the core of the area. The Avebury WHS also contains many important features of built heritage and nature conservation value. The overall importance of the conservation value of the WHS is reflected in its inclusion within the North Wessex Downs Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The majority of the Avebury WHS is, therefore, subject to a variety of pressures from modern life. The present land use pressures on the historic and natural resources arise principally from agriculture, tourism and traffic. |
This Draft Management Plan has been prepared on behalf of the Avebury WHS Working
Party (chaired by English Heritage), as a basis for consultation with local people and all those with an interest in the management of the area. The Working Party comprises representatives from the agencies who hold management responsibilities in the WHS, such as the National Trust, the local authorities, and Avebury Parish Council. English Heritage, as the lead body developing Management Plans for World Heritage Sites in England, has funded this two-year collaborative project which aims to have a Management Plan in place for Avebury before the end of 1998.
World Heritage designation brings enormous prestige to Avebury but does not carry with it any additional statutory controls. However, WH status is a key material factor which must be taken into account by the local authorities when making planning decisions. The Plan is not prescriptive or binding on landowners and management agencies, but aims to set the framework for co-ordinated management and the development of partnerships. In this way, the WHS Plan is intended to enhance the existing plan coverage (such as the local statutory plans and the National Trust’s estate management plan) and will serve to inform existing and future management documents relating to the area.
The preparation this strategic Draft Management Plan for the entire WHS is a significant move forward in securing the future character and quality of the WHS landscape as a whole, which is locally cherished and internationally recognised. The Plan provides a framework for the holistic and proactive management of the landscape, helping to ensure that the special qualities of the WHS are sustained and preserved for future generations.
In particular the Draft Plan aims to:
- establish an overall vision for the long-term future of the Avebury WHS which will be widely accepted.
- explore opportunities for positive management with farmers, landowners, and other agencies which will enhance the landscape character of the WHS whilst respecting economic interests.
- provide guidance and attract widespread support which will lead to an increased understanding, respect and care for this exceptional cultural landscape.
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The Plan comprises a statement of the objectives necessary for the long-term preservation of the site and its landscape setting. The objectives also aim to balance the interests of conservation, public access, and the interests of those who live and work in the WHS.The objectives are based on the identification of the values of the Site, key management issues, and an assessment of why the WHS is sensitive and vulnerable to the pressures of modern life.
The first part of the Draft Plan contains an assessment of the cultural values that make Avebury special, including justification for its inscription as a WHS. The protection of WHS values and sympathetic land management within the area greatly depends on identifying and resolving key management issues. The second part of the Plan contains the descriptive information used in the identification of 51 issues related to management needs. Following on from the description and evaluation, the third part of the Plan sets out objectives for the management of the WHS based on a strategic view over thirty years, and medium-term objectives for five to ten years. In total, twenty-five objectives have been identified. The overall long-term objectives set the context for the more detailed medium-term objectives, strategy and programmes of action outlined in the final part of the Draft Plan.
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Overall objectives for the management of the WHS for the next thirty years:
- Understand and influence the long-term change in the WHS cultural landscape for the benefit of the historic environment.
- Gain recognition for Avebury as a very special place for which special treatment should be given by government departments, agencies and landowners, in order to safeguard the historic environmental assets of the WHS and their setting for the benefit of succeeding generations.
- Meet Britain’s obligations under the World Heritage Convention in relation to the effective management of the Avebury WHS.
- Ensure the sustainability of all uses of the WHS.
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Objectives for the management of the WHS for the next 5-10 years have been identified and classified into the following five issue groups:
Land use and condition of the monuments and their immediate setting
- Provide the most appropriate landscape setting for all the major monuments and to halt ongoing degradation of sites and monuments currently under current land use.
- Enhance and conserve the landscape character of the WHS with respect to tree cover and other planted features.
- Enhance and protect the visual sensitivity of the key monuments and their setting.
- Ensure the boundary of the WHS offers the best possible protection for the monuments and their landscape setting.
- Establish an accurate picture of the current condition and vulnerability of all monuments.
The planning and policy framework
- Maintain and enhance the rich built heritage features in the WHS, recognising their relationship to the monuments and landscape.
- Optimise the use of agri-environmental schemes and other management agreements in order to enhance the protection of the monuments and their landscape setting.
- Enhance the protection of the monuments and historic landscape setting of the WHS afforded by the Local Plan and policy framework.
- Enhance the protection of the WHS from the activities which do not currently require planning permission, but are potentially damaging to upstanding and buried archaeological features.
Traffic and parking management
- Implement measures to provide comprehensive treatment of all important road links within the WHS, in order to improve safety and the quality of the historic environment.
- Implement a strategic policy to reduce parking congestion in the Village area on peak days, dispersing the pressure without exceeding the overall capacity of the WHS historic landscape to absorb change.
- Reduce the reliance on the private car by visitors to Avebury WHS, by encouraging the uses of more sustainable methods of transport to get to the site and to move around within it.
Public access and sustainability
- Ensure all aspects of public access and tourism at Avebury are sustainable, despite the likelihood of increasing visitor numbers in future.
- Mitigate the physical damage caused to monuments and footpaths by the impact of visitor pressure, and restore the areas significantly effected.
- Reduce the negative effects of visitor pressure at Avebury on quality of life of local community.
- Encourage visitor appreciation of the wider landscape in order to enhance enjoyment and understanding of the WHS at the same time as dispersing visitor pressure from the Village area.
- Ensure that the development of any further visitor facilities at Avebury are compatible with sustainability objectives.
- Establish an integrated monitoring program which will promote proactive management by predicting potential damage to the site and will assess the effectiveness of management actions in tackling the problems.
Research
- Encourage and promote academic research to achieve a deeper understanding of the WHS necessary for its appropriate management. All research should be carried out with due regard to the principles of sustainability and to appropriate standards of work.
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The Draft Management Plan and this page have been developed as a basis for seeking the views of local people, businesses, visitors and all interested parties before the Plan is put in place in August 1998.
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We would welcome your views on the issues and objectives outlined in this page. If you would like further information (or a copy of the full version of the Draft Plan), or to register your comments, please contact the project officer before the end of June 1998 at the following address:
Melanie Pomeroy
WHS Management Plan officer
The National Trust
Avebury Estate Office
High Street
Avebury, Wilts
SN8 1RF
Tel/Fax: 01672 539698
E-mail: wavmcp@smtp.ntrust.org.uk |
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Membership of the Avebury WHS Working Party
English Heritage (Chair)
Wiltshire County Council
Avebury Parish Council
English Nature
Kennet District Council
The National Trust
The Countryside Commission
ICOMOS UK
The Country Landowners Association
The National Farmers Union
The Farming and Rural Conservation Agency
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport
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