Stonehenge road tunnel near Heritage site ‘shocking decision’ and ‘a complete joke’, campaigner says

The approval by the government to build an underground road tunnel near Stonehenge has been slammed as “a complete joke” and a “shocking decision” due to its impact on the environment.

Chris Todd, Director of Transport Action Network, told NationalWorld the government is “sticking two fingers up at UNESCO who have objected to the scheme” and is “ignoring the recommendation to refuse permission made by five planning inspectors after having spent six months examining the scheme.”

Planning permission was first given in November 2020 but it was later quashed by the High Court in 2021 after campaigns by locals including the Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site alliance.

But on Friday (14 July) the Department for Transport (DfT) approved the £1.7 billion two-mile long tunnel from Amesbury to Berwick Down in Wiltshire.

Highways England said it wanted to build the tunnel to reduce traffic and cut journey times on the A303, but campaigners say it would detrimentally affect the World Heritage Site.

Mr Todd said the government’s approval “makes a mockery of the planning system and shows that there’s little point in the public engaging with it when the minister constantly ignores any recommendations.”

He said: “It’s just a waste of everyone’s time. There should have been a new public examination of the alternative options to properly scrutinise the information National Highways gave to the government.

“National Highways have a history of being economical with the truth, and we have no faith that the government has approached this decision impartially.”

National Highways said alternative routes have been “investigated thoroughly over many years” including the F10 surface route but the firm said this would have caused “more environmental harm and potential cultural heritage harm.”

The road tunnel project involves overhauling eight miles of the A303 and has been backed by Wiltshire Council.

In a 64-page letter, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he was "satisfied there is a clear need" for the new tunnel and the project’s "harm on spatial, visual relations and settings is less than substantial and should be weighed against the public benefits".

Campaign group, the Stonehenge Alliance, warned the project could see Stonehenge stripped of its World Heritage Site status after UNESCO (the UN’s heritage body) confirmed in 2021 that this could happen due to the irreversible damage to an area of “outstanding universal value”.

On its website the campaign group says “it appears the government really doesn’t care about the damage this road will do.”

Mr Todd told NationalWorld that it is “a complete joke to claim that the development would not have a substantial impact on the World Heritage Site.”

He said: “If a near 1km scar across the World Heritage Site along with other intrusive development and a massive new junction within its setting isn’t seen as substantial, then the government is either blind or being deliberately misleading.”

He added that alongside the impacts to the Heritage site traffic speeds and noise impacts will also increase on the western side of the site “as traffic will be going at 70+mph as opposed to much lower speeds now.”

Mr Todd said there are “marginal gains” from the project including removing traffic within the centre of the Heritage site “which will reduce a visual disturbance and noise slightly” and improving access by people walking and cycling but “the land is not open access land.”

He added: “The negative side of this is the loss of view of the Stones by people passing on the road.”

National Highways told NationalWorld that the Heritage site will not be damaged during construction as contractors will be using a specialist tunnelling machine which will dig the tunnel without disturbing the ground directly above - and the tunnel will be further away from the monument than the current road.

David Bullock, National Highways’ Project Manager for the A303 Stonehenge scheme, said the scheme has been “designed and carefully planned” to protect the Heritage site and the “amount of survey and mitigation work is unprecedented”.

National Highways said the existing A303 is a “dangerous, physical barrier for visitors” with traffic having a “highly damaging impact on the unique nature of the prehistoric landscape”. It said the road tunnel project will “improve biodiversity and provide a positive legacy for local communities.”

Mr Bullock added that there is “a strong understanding of the archaeology of the whole site” and the focus will be on “making sure what is there is understood, recorded and protected.”