‘No justification’ for £1.7bn Stonehenge road tunnel that is a ‘waste’ of taxpayer’s money, say critics

A £1.7 billion project to build an underground road tunnel near Stonehenge has been slated as a “waste of money” and a “pointless project” while the UK faces a cost of living crisis.

Tom Ryan, policy analyst of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said taxpayers will be “bemused” at the decision to “green light” the project that will construct a two-mile long tunnel from Amesbury to Berwick Down in Wiltshire to reduce traffic and cut journey times on the A303.

Mr Ryan said “there is no justification for spending so much” on the “pointless project” while “taxes are at a 70 year high”.

He added: "The government should put a stop to this waste of money and focus precious funds more carefully."

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

On Friday (14 July) the Department for Transport (DfT) approved the controversial road project which will involve overhauling eight miles of the A303.

Chris Todd, Director of Transport Action Network, said the spending on the road tunnel project “doesn’t make economic sense” as it could be money “that could be going into improving public transport instead”.

He added: “Or it could be used to give nurses, junior doctors and teachers a proper cost of living pay rise. The government’s economic priorities are completely wrong-headed and making things worse.”

The TaxPayers’ Alliance said the money spent on the road tunnel project could be used to improve other roads “more quickly” and that “would be of greater benefit to commuters across the region.”

It added that the south west of England has “long suffered from poor transport infrastructure relative to the rest of England”, questioning why so much money is being spent on a road tunnel at Stonehenge.

According to government statistics, the South West had the lowest spending on local and national roads at £138 per head, after London and the East Midlands in 2016-17. While the South West also had the lowest spending on railways at £136 per head after the North East and East Midlands in 2016-17.

Mr Todd said the money on the road tunnel would be “far better” spent on “giving a second rail route to the south west” as “the Dawlish line remains vulnerable, especially with rising sea levels.”

He added: “Combined with demand management measures these could make a big difference, reduce emissions and avoid the damage this road will cause.”

National Highways Chief Executive Nick Harris said the building of the road tunnel is aiming to ease congestion and delays on the nearby A303, while also being built to “help to boost the South West economy” and “remove the sight and sound of traffic from this very busy road”.

He added that it will “return one of our most important World Heritage Sites to something like its original setting.”

However, Mr Todd said the government is “sticking two fingers up at UNESCO” who have previously objected to the scheme. In 2021 UNESCO (the UN’s heritage body) warned that the World Heritage Site could be stripped of its status due to the irreversible damage to an area of “outstanding universal value”.

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.