Roman settlement remains found in West Sussex included Bronze and Iron Age features

The remains of a Roman settlement have been found during an archaeological dig in Tangmere – to support the planning process for the development of 1,300 homes and community facilities.

Countryside Properties (UK) Ltd is working with Chichester District Council and Tangmere Parish Council on the development at Tangmere Village.

Following the discovery, residents in Tangmere today (Thursday, March 28) received letters in the post explaining the implications of the find.

The letter, signed by Emily Bell – associate director of strategic communications, read: "I can contacting you on behalf of Vistry Group who, over the course of the next three years, will be undertaking archaeological works on the Tangmere SDL site.

“As you may be aware, Chichester District Council resolved to grant outline planning permission for development on the site which will include 1,300 new homes, as well as a primary school, new community and commercial facilities.

"Technical work was undertaken to support the planning process which included archaeological evaluations. As a result of this, areas of archaeological interest were found on the site and surrounding agriculture land.

"This includes the remains of a Roman settlement, Bronze and Iron Age features.”

The University of College of London’s (UCL) Archaeology South-East team will be undertaking archaeological excavations across 14 hectares of the site, commencing in April 2024 and running until late 2026.

The letter added: “During this time, the archaeological teams will initially access the site via Copse Farm, off Tangmere Road, and from September 2024 via the A285 / A27 roundabout.

"Two site compounds will be set up and signage will be displayed at all site entrances. To minimise any disruption, working hours will be confined to 8am to 4pm from Monday to Thursday and 8am to 3.30pm on Fridays. No work will be carried out on the weekends or bank holidays.

“We will keep the community up-to-date and invite you to subscribe for email updates via our project website at www.countryside-tangmere.co.uk.

“If you have any questions, you can contact the team via email on [email protected] or by calling our freephone number on 0808 168 8296 and a member of the team will call you back.”