Heritage Sites: East of England

Jonathan Davies Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Pam Cox]

I absolutely agree that accessibility and affordability are at the heart of much of this.

On the point about devolution, I would like to ask the Minister to address this issue and to work with colleagues to enhance the standing of heritage and culture within the ongoing devolution processes in the east of England.

[Jonathan Davies (Mid Derbyshire) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for her generosity in giving way at this late hour. I am not an east of England MP, but I am the Chair of the all-party parliamentary group on UNESCO world heritage sites, so this is an issue about which I care passionately. On the point my hon. Friend has just made, I ask the Minister to bear in mind very carefully clause 41 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, because we do not want that legislation to inadvertently cause second-order effects and challenges for these very important sites, which are part of our history, culture and heritage and are a big part of who we are as a society.

[Pam Cox]

Indeed, planning regulation plays an important part in preserving our heritage. I am sure the Minister will make note of those comments.

The east is a region rich in history. In my constituency of Colchester, we are rightly proud of our claim to be the first city built in Britain and its first Roman capital. We possess the oldest and longest Roman city walls, the remains of the temple of Claudius and Britain’s only known Roman chariot racing track, which is a monument particularly close to my own heart—think “Ben-Hur” with an Essex twist.

It is known as the Colchester Roman circus and is a site of international importance, yet continues to face planning and development pressures, which speaks to what my hon. Friend just mentioned, and lacks the sustained investment needed to realise its full potential. One difficulty we face at that site and at some other scheduled ancient monuments in my constituency is that their historic importance can be at first sight very difficult to appreciate. The Roman circus spectator terraces were so huge that the Saxons, presumably including King Sigeberht, found them a great source of building materials. Unfortunately, their commendable recycling meant that there is nothing left of the circus above ground.

As a result, I have been in discussions with local heritage architects about the possibility of reconstructing these mighty starting gates of the circus based on designs that have been found in similar buildings elsewhere in Europe. These are the gates through which charioteers and horses would have thundered at the start of every race. We have run into a problem, however, in that Historic England does not seem very keen on reconstructions these days, when in previous generations it may have been more keen. A reconstruction in some form would most likely draw many more people to the site, promote local pride and energise local tourism. Given that, I would like to ask the Minister to take up this issue with Historic England to see if its attitude towards reconstruction can be revised in situations such as these.

Another key site in my constituency is the former Romano-British settlement at Gosbecks field. This dates from the early first century CE and is believed to have been the residence of Cunobelin, known to Romans as “King of the Britons” and to Shakespeare as Cymbeline. The site includes an Iron Age dyke, which today still forms part of the boundary line between my constituency and that of the right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel).

Gosbecks is believed to be the place where ancient Britons signed up—or surrendered, depending on your view—to become part of the Roman empire. It therefore plays a vital part in the history not just of our county, but of the country. I would like to see very much more made of Gosbecks.

The Romans constructed a large theatre and a huge temple at Gosbecks, but here too the bricks were recycled and today there is little to see. However, experts—and former colleagues of mine—at the University of Essex have a renowned track record in developing immersive technology and virtual and augmented reality applications that could help bring Gosbecks back to life for new audiences. Think Runnymede and Magna Carta—it is of that order of magnitude. There is already some interest in that from the National Lottery Heritage Fund from a green spaces perspective, but I also see many synergies with the ministerial team’s responsibilities for culture, heritage and media, with an emphasis on media, as Gosbecks and sites like it could provide brilliant opportunities for 21st century interactive media interpretations that are the gateway to more inclusive access to our heritage and culture. I therefore encourage the Minister and the Department to do more to promote such opportunities, perhaps taking Gosbecks as a use case.

Our heritage sites tell our national story, connect us to the generations who came before us and offer opportunities for education and tourism and to create pride in place. However, they also face real and growing threats from neglect, development pressures and underinvestment—threats that became ever-more intense under the previous Government’s cuts to local authority coffers.

I welcome the many announcements of enhanced funding for heritage made by the Government over the past year. To give just a few, we have had £15 million through the heritage at risk capital fund, a further £5 million through the heritage revival fund, and just this week we have had details of a new £20 million museum renewal fund. Those initiatives empower communities to take ownership of local heritage and breathe new life into neglected buildings. When done well, such projects can deliver multiple returns for local economies, creating employment, aspiration and pride.