Stonehenge tunnel plan 'should not proceed' says Unesco

UN cultural body Unesco has urged the government to make amendments to a controversial plan for a road tunnel near Stonehenge.

The World Heritage Site (WHS) is at risk of being placed on the danger list if changes are not made to the proposed tunnel scheme on the A303.

National Highways' plans were approved by the government in July.

The government says the scheme is needed to tackle a "long-standing traffic bottleneck".

Unesco wants the government to act before the World Heritage Committee meets again in February 2024.

Earlier in September, leading members of The Stonehenge Alliance and Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site took a petition to the Unesco headquarters in Paris.

It gained 225,000 signatures from 147 countries urging the UK Government to halt plans for the "damaging" road scheme.

There are concerns from activists and Unesco that Stonehenge could lose its World Heritage status if the scheme goes ahead without amendments.

National Highways' plans were approved in 2020, before being quashed following a successful campaign at the High Court in 2021.

However, the Department for Transport approved the £1.7bn two-mile (3.2km) tunnel from Amesbury to Berwick Down in Wiltshire on 14 July.

David Bullock, National Highways' Project Manager for the A303 Stonehenge scheme, said: "It is very much a scheme objective to conserve and enhance the World Heritage Site and this is being achieved through close collaborative working with heritage groups, the independent A303 Scientific Committee, and our archaeology contractors, who have an extensive track record of work in connection with the Stonehenge landscape.

"We have taken a lot of care to get to this point, and we will continue to work with the Heritage Monitoring Advisory Group and experts within the Scientific Committee to ensure the scheme is delivered with heritage and the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site at the heart of every decision made.

"We remain confident this scheme is the best solution for tackling a long-standing traffic bottleneck, improving journeys, bringing much-needed relief to local communities, boosting the economy in the south-west, while returning the Stonehenge landscape to something like its original setting."

In a report, Unesco said: "Over the years, the Committee and the Advisory Bodies have been clear and consistent that the proposed A303 improvement scheme should not proceed in its current form."

"The currently proposed western portal and associated dual carriageway within a cutting would have significant and inappropriate adverse impacts on the physical and visual integrity of the property", it added.

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