England, abandoned plans for a tunnel near Stonehenge

The road tunnel that was supposed to graze the archaeological site of Stonehenge, England, will not be built: the government has in fact canceled the plan to build the A303 road tunnel approved last year. It was a £1.7 billion project for 3.2 kilometers of road between Amesbury and Berwick Down in Wiltshire. The abandonment of the project was announced in late July by the chancellor of the Exchequer (i.e., the British finance minister), Rachel Reeves. The plan was abandoned not for reasons of special sensitivity to the ancient monument, but simply because it was no longer economically viable.

In a speech in the House of Commons (one of the two branches of the British Parliament) last July 30, Reeves harshly criticized the Conservative Party (which ruled the country continuously from 2010 until last July, when the election was won by the Labour Party) for causing a £20 billion hole in the public finances. The new Labor government of Keir Starmer has therefore announced, through the mouth of Rachel Reeves, “a cocktail of spending cuts and tax changes” that also passes by giving up some projects: among them, the Stonehenge tunnel. Transport Minister Louise Haigh agreed with the decision. Frustration, on the other hand, from Wiltshire council, which said it was “extremely disconcerted and disappointed” by the abandonment of the project: the rationale for the tunnel was to ease traffic congestion on the A303, a busy artery in the area. As a result, Wiltshire council is now calling for alternatives: the problem is that the road has large volumes of traffic that often cause congestion.

The first approval of the project was in 2020, followed by a cancellation in 2021, and then finally the green light again in 2023. However, there had been discontent, protests and appeals precisely because of the environmental impact caused by the tunnel. Satisfaction was also expressed byUNESCO, with a statement from director-general Audrey Azoulay: “UNESCO welcomes the Labour government’s decision to cancel the construction of a road tunnel under the Stonehenge World Heritage site.”

For the associations that have been fighting for years to stop the project(The Stonehenge Alliance and Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site, which signed a petition in 2023 that gathered tens of thousands of signatures), however, this is a half victory, and the reason lies in the fact that the project was abandoned precisely because it was economically unsustainable. “The Stonehenge Alliance,” the association states in a note, “is fighting to protect the Stonehenge World Heritage Site from further damage. We welcome the government’s abandonment of its damaging proposal to widen the main A303 road where it runs through the iconic World Heritage Site. But the road project was canceled for reasons of convenience. What if the project becomes convenient in the years to come? As long as the World Heritage Site is not adequately protected by UK planning law, it will not be safe from further damage.”

England, abandoned plans for a tunnel near Stonehenge

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.