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Stonehenge,
Wiltshire
Stone Circle and prehistoric complex. OS reference SU123422

Stonehenge – Alert!

Plans for vast irreversible changes to the surroundings of our national icon “in time for the Olympics” are fully in place. Most heritage and archaeological bodies, with the extraordinary exception of English Heritage, are totally opposed to them. Yet final government confirmation may be imminent.

It is vital that as many people as possible understand exactly what is going on; so here is a factual and honest summary of the situation and an outline of exactly what is at stake. It is followed by an account of what has been said by supporters of the scheme – whose stance, in our view is simply invalid. We invite all who agree with us and the very many organisations opposing the plans to spread the word far and wide.

1796 image of Stonehenge

A “one minute” summary

• As everyone knows, the existing squalid visitor centre has long been dubbed “a national disgrace” and the nearby A303 Trunk Road is a major detraction.
  
  
• Over the years many solutions have been proposed, including a bypass and a tunnel under the whole area, but each has been ruled out on cost or other grounds. There are now two schemes on the table – one for a new visitor centre and one for widening the A303. Both together are known as ‘The Stonehenge Project’.
  
  
• It now seems the government favours just one solution for the A303, “the Published Scheme” – a short tunnel served by a new dual carriageway stretching across two miles of the protected landscape, securely fenced, splitting the World Heritage Site in two and with long cuttings leading down to tunnel entrances, lit day and night.
  
  
• Here are just a few of the considerable number of organisations totally opposed to this proposal:
  The National Trust, Friends of the Earth, RESCUE (The British Archaeological Trust), CBA - The Council for British Archaeology, The Campaign to Protect Rural England, The Pagan Federation, Transport 2000, Ancient Sacred Sites Network (ASLAN), ICOMOS-UK – The International Council for Monuments & Sites, UK, The Prehistoric Society, WANHS – The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Save Stonehenge, World Heritage Alert and ourselves, Heritage Action.
  
  
• By contrast, English Heritage, which has the sole statutory responsibility for preservation of ancient monuments, is actively promoting the proposal together with its plan for a £67 million new visitor centre. To this end, £17 million has already been spent on buying land for a new visitor centre and commissioning designs, prior to planning permission being confirmed. The government has just made it clear that permission for the visitor centre depends upon the Published Road Scheme going ahead – prompting EH to respond: “we urge the government to give its support to the Published Scheme”.
  
  
• What is at stake? The answer is simple: Either Stonehenge will soon be approached by an aesthetically intrusive and entirely unnecessary land train system – or it won’t. Either two miles of brand new dual carriageway will be driven over the fully protected World Heritage Site (WHS), or it won’t. Either more than a million cubic yards of material will be ripped from the ancient, world-revered, archaeologically and culturally incomparable landscape setting, or it won’t.
  
  

• Read about this in depth.
• An achievable change to Stonehenge