Hotel pool plan will destroy archaeology - expert

The White Hart Hotel is in a historic preservation area in Lincoln

Plans for a swimming pool at a Lincoln hotel will damage "nationally significant" archaeology, an expert has claimed.

The White Hart Hotel, near Lincoln Castle and Lincoln Cathedral, has submitted plans to build a pool on its ground floor.

However, archaeologist Dr Samantha Stein said there was "no justification" for the potential damage it would cause to historic finds.

A hotel spokesperson insisted archaeological considerations had been taken into account.

Dr Samantha Stein is a producer on the BBC Two programme Digging for Britain

Dr Stein said she was not against development at the hotel but expressed concern about the possible impact on what she called "nationally significant" archaeology.

She said the area was "as important as the cathedral, as our castle, as places like the Tower of London and Stonehenge".

Dr Stein added: "Please refurbish this hotel, bring us something beautiful, bring us a spa but there's absolutely no reason to destroy below ground archaeological remains to do that."

Andrew Long, principal director of Travel Sector Property, which owns the hotel, disputed that anything of national significance would be destroyed in the process of building the pool.

He said there had been months of "detailed professional work" investigating the site.

Mr Long said he was "satisfied" there was unlikely to be any finds of national significance.

Archaeological evaluations submitted as part of the planning application to City of Lincoln Council suggest there is the potential for finding Roman era archaeology at depths well below the test excavations and that "such remains would be of national significance".

The plans can be viewed here.