"The wider setting of a site seems to be a priority for us with Thornborough, so why not in this case?"

Damn right.

HA "beliefs" section –
"heritage places deserve respect not only in terms of physical preservation but also in terms of their setting within the landscape…..there is an essence of place in any heritage landscape…. and that respect for this should always be maintained. We therefore oppose anything that breaches that respect, whether this is a threat to the archaeology, inappropriate use, intrusive development, or assaults on the appearance or atmosphere."

Seems fair enough to me. Though I suppose controversy can be made out of anything if someone's desperate.