Will 3,700-year-old stone circle found in Derbyshire stop holiday park scheme?

The Save Farley Moor campaigners fear Forest Holidays’ planning application to build 75 cabins in 140 acres of woodland at Farley Moor, off Farley Lane, near Matlock – which is being considered by Derbyshire Dales District Council – will result in a loss of trees and wildlife and an increase in traffic problems.

But following the recent discovery by TV’s Time Team archaeologists that a single standing stone at Farley Wood, near Matlock, is part of a larger ceremonial site dating back 3,700 years to the Bronze Age the campaigners are hoping the planned woodland holiday park will not go ahead.

Read more: 3,700-year-old stone circle found in Derbyshire forest challenges history

Campaigner Sarah Benson said: “We’re very much hoping that these significant findings will ensure that the proposed development doesn’t go ahead. There are also reports of other significant stones within the area designated for development that still require a full archaeological investigation.”

The Save Farley Moor campaigners claim Forest Holidays aims to build a massive £30m complex of lodges, roads, and service buildings and they fear the proposed scheme will involve the felling of over 1,300 trees and the sectioning-off of large areas of public space.

Plans for the scheme include nine one-bed cabins, 35 two-bed cabins, 22 three-bed cabins, five four-bed cabins and four five-bed treehouse cabins to accommodate 185 people, a car park, reception, shop, cafe, maintenance building and outdoor play area, a ranger station, storage pods, recycling points, ancillary roads, paths, and an archery range.

But many residents and campaigners, including over 3,000 who have signed a petition against the scheme, have already raised a number of objections to the scheme.

These include concerns about potential noise and light pollution, increased traffic congestion, road safety, access, loss of trees and wildlife, the disturbance of land releasing peat into the atmosphere, flooding and surface run-off water from the scheme, and the over-saturation of the area’s holiday market.

The archaeological discovery of the ceremonial site near the 6ft 6ins tall Farley Moor standing stone monument, which was recently featured on Time Team’s YouTube channel, was discovered following excavations by Forestry England in partnership with the Time Team crew.

Forestry England has stated that excavations uncovered evidence of a ceremonial platform nearby and identified that five other nearby stones would have once been standing to form a circle with the main stone located above a natural spring.

Dr Lawrence Shaw, Forestry England’s lead historic environment adviser, has stated the discovery is ‘hugely significant’ and confirmed that what had been discovered was evidence of a much more complex ceremonial landscape including the original standing stone.

Forestry England has stated it will continue to protect the area of the discovery and manage the site of the circle as though it was a scheduled monument to ensure that it is preserved and the archaeology team hopes to carry out further investigations next summer.

Campaigner Kitty Kenyon hopes the Forestry England and Time Team discovery which she says is less than 100m from the proposed holiday development will have a bearing on whether the scheme goes ahead or not.

She added: “Time Team have demonstrated that Farley Moor is a significant, sacred, Bronze Age archaeological site which needs to be protected at all costs.”

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has already raised concerns for birds and badgers and that the scheme’s foul water may pose a risk to habitats, and that the scheme would be expected to lead to the loss of forestry, woodland and grassland but the applicant has stated that it intends to implement a habitat and creation and enhancement scheme to address losses.

The Council for the Protection of Rural England has also objected to the scheme claiming there is insufficient infrastructure and the Clean Rivers Trust has objected over concerns about a feared threat to others’ water supply, and Darley Dale Town Council has objected with concerns about light pollution, highways, the impact on the environment and limited infrastructure.

However, Matlock Town Council, Natural England and Derbyshire County Council’s Highways department have raised no objections.

Forest Holidays has stated money from the scheme will go into woodland management and the scheme will create new jobs and be sensitive to the environment with a management plan for a more diverse forest canopy.

Land manager Forestry England – which operates as the landlord to Forest Holidays – has also been advised the development will have no adverse effect upon the highway and no safety concerns are expected, and further proposed improvements include enhancements to the access point off Farley Lane.

Forestry England has also previously claimed the proposals are designed to deliver ‘biodiversity net gain’ and there will be ‘no adverse impact or loss of habitat’ and lighting will be carefully considered.

It has stated that although plans include removing approximately 10per cent of trees ‘additional tree removal’ will be needed for normal thinning and to minimise blight infection and it claims there will also be an enhancement to change the woodland from coniferous pine to a more continuous cover, native woodland.

Resident Wendy Kenyon said: “Having watched the Time Team episode, no wonder so many people go to Farley Moor for their mental health or to pray or to feel better.

“Folk have been doing this here for at least 4000 years. It would be an atrocity to develop this site and deny us all the freedom to walk here free of traffic.”

Forestry England has been approached for a comment on whether the archaeological discovery will have any bearing on Forest Holidays’ planning application for a new woodland holiday park at Farley Moor.