Stonehenge tunnel scheme scrapped by government

The tunnel plan attracted a lot of criticism from different organisations

Plans to build a two-mile tunnel near to Stonehenge have been cancelled by the government.

The scheme along the A303 in Wiltshire, which was agreed by the previous Conservative government, had faced a number of legal challenges from campaigners.

But the new Labour government has now scrapped the £2bn project altogether, as announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who said the Transport Secretary has agreed not to "move forward" with the project.

Wiltshire Council said it was "extremely dismayed and disappointed" by the announcement.

The tunnel plan was to reunite the landscape and ease the traffic, so the road cannot be seen from the stones.

Councillor Richard Clewer, leader of Wiltshire Council, said: "These improvements are needed now to ease traffic congestion on the A303 and reduce traffic in our communities, and also ensure economic growth in Wiltshire, unlocking jobs and investment in the wider south-west region."

Planning permission for the scheme, which was backed by Wiltshire Council and involved overhauling eight miles (12.8km) of the major road, was first approved in November 2020 - despite Planning Inspectorate officials saying it would cause "permanent, irreversible harm" to the area.

However, National Highways said the tunnel would reduce journey times, ease traffic problems and remove the road from the view of the landscape.

The plan has been controversial with locals spilt on the issue and there has been international interest, with UNESCO raising concerns about the World Heritage Site.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had failed to commit to the scheme during the election campaign.

Campaigners have gone to the High Court several times over the project, including just a couple of weeks ago.

The first approval was quashed by the High Court in 2021, then given the green light again by the DfT in July 2023.

It was put on hold after another High Court challenge in December, then a judicial review dismissed their challenge in February and said the DfT 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 in May.

They had been waiting on another update before the news earlier that Labour would scrap the plans.

The ancient monument has made numerous international headlines, partly because of the road plans

Campaigner John Adams, from Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site, said: "We think that all the agencies involved should get together and look at other intelligent alternatives.

"Not necessarily a whole road scheme, but there are things that could be done at both ends of the World Heritage Site and to stop rat-running through local villages."

Residents have complained of rat-running for many years when the A303 is congested.

The Conservative MP for the area, Danny Kruger, said the new government "must fund an alternative plan to help communities around the A303 cope with the volume of traffic".

“Road improvements have been needed for years but delayed in anticipation of the tunnel. The status quo is completely unacceptable,” he added.

Paul McKernan, a parish councillor in the village of Shrewton, told the BBC: "We routinely have traffic at a complete standstill through these very narrow roads as people's satnavs take them away from the A303.

"We don't even need an accident or a blockage now. The impact for the villages is that they can't use the high street - much of it doesn't have pavements - people tend to feel besieged. It's getting worse."