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Work on the £1.7bn Stonehenge Tunnel has been delayed after campaigners were granted permission to challenge the controversial ruling that the project should go ahead
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 23 May 2024
The scheme would see eight miles of road overhauled with a two mile tunnel running past Stonehenge
Campaigners protesting the construction of a road tunnel close to Stonehenge have won the right to challenge the outcome of a judicial review allowing the scheme to go ahead.
Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS) has been fighting the UK government after it approved a £1.7bn (US$2.25bn, €2bn) two-mile (3.2km) tunnel from Amesbury to Berwick Down in July 2023.
There has been significant backlash from public bodies and heritage organisations over the project, who say that the project could cause “permanent, irreversible harm” to the prehistoric monument - an icon of British history. So great is the controversy that Unesco has even threatened to strip Stonehenge and its sister site Avebury of their World Heritage Site status and place them on its World Heritage in Danger list should the plan go ahead.
Preparatory work by government-owned National Highways was expected to begin on the road this month, but the start of work will now be delayed as the legal arguments continue.
A judicial review dismissed SSWHS’s challenge in February and said the Department for Transport had followed the correct process. The outcome of the judicial review was believed to be incorrect by campaigners, and after appealing the decision, they were granted approval to challenge it.
“This is extremely good news. All those who care passionately about our cultural heritage can breathe a sigh of relief,” said John Adams, chair of the Stonehenge Alliance.
“We now have a new opportunity for the government decision to be thoroughly scrutinised.
“This road scheme would be incredibly damaging to Stonehenge World Heritage Site. Yet, the government doesn’t seem to care and is desperately trying to bulldoze through this decision before it is thrown out of office.”
SSWHS is now seeking to raise £34,000 for the Appeal Court hearing.
Heritage
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