Hi all,
I know there are various Stonehenge discussions underway, but I'm getting bogged down in nonsense trying to follow parts of them, so apologies if this has surfaced somewhere else.
On Monday, 23 January 2006, the Highways Agency announced the start of a public consultation on the options for road improvements at Stonehenge.
They stated that: 'Following a Public Inquiry in 2004 into our proposals for improving the A303 past Stonehenge, the Inspector recommended a new dual carriageway should be built, along with a 2.1km long bored tunnel to remove the effects of the road and traffic from Britain's most famous prehistoric site. However, the cost of the new road has risen significantly since then and so Government Ministers have asked us to undertake a review and identify lower cost options. Over the coming weeks we will be holding exhibitions to illustrate our identified options and are looking for your feedback, using the enclosed questionnaire, on the best way forward. You are invited to attend an exhibition at the White Hart Hotel in Salisbury on:
Thursday 9th February 2006 from 10 am to 8 pm
Friday 10th February 2006 from 10 am to 8 pm
Saturday 11th February 2006 from 10 am to 4 pm
or in London at The Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly
on:
Friday 17th February 2006 from 10 am to 8 pm
Saturday 18th February 2006 from 10 am to 4 pm
Representatives of the Highways Agency and their consultants will be on hand to answer your questions."
Full details and the online questionnaire for responses are available at
http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/3659.aspx
The options on offer via the new review are:
1. Short bored tunnel (2.1km) – the scheme that went to Inquiry in 2004, which was supported by English Heritage and the Highways Agency, but which was criticized by almost all other interested parties, including the National Trust, the Council for British Archaeology, Save Stonehenge, ICOMOS-UK (representing UNESCO), and the Stonehenge Alliance, which includes Friends of the Earth, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, Transport 2000, RESCUE and the Pagan Federation.
2. Short cut and cover tunnel (2.1km) – a scheme almost universally derided since it was first proposed in 1994 because of its devastating environmental impact.
3. A southern route through the World Heritage Site – unlikely, as there are grand houses to the south.
4. A northern route through the World Heritage Site – even more unlikely, as this is MoD land.
5. A flyover for Countess, a bypass for Winterbourne Stoke and the closure of the A344 junction at Stonehenge Bottom – which might result in more pressure for the creation of horribly destructive surface-level dual carriageways.
To download the leaflet, visit:
http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/documents/Stonehenge_leaflet_web_version.pdf
What's particularly noticeable is that the longer bored tunnel option, which start and ends outside the borders of the World Heritage Site, is not included – because it's too expensive. What's also true, however, is that this is the only option that truly fulfils the government's obligations to UNESCO – to 'ensure the protection, conservation and preservation of the site, to the utmost of its resources'.
The long struggle continues.
Discuss.
All the best,
Andy
Andy is the author of Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion (Alternative Albion, 2004), described by SchNEWS as 'by far the best bit of modern British social history I've seen', and the editor of The Battle of the Beanfield (Enabler, 2005), described by Professor Ronald Hutton as 'probably the definitive work on its subject, something very rarely achieved in practice'.
www.andyworthington.co.uk
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