Stonehenge tunnel campaigners take petition to UNESCO

Highways England's plans to build a tunnel near the site were approved by the Department for Transport in July

Campaigners are presenting a petition against the construction of a road tunnel by Stonehenge to UNESCO.

Leading members of The Stonehenge Alliance (TSA) and Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS) will take the petition to Paris.

UNESCO previously called for the decision on the build to be delayed and the scheme to be amended.

Activists and UNESCO have warned the site's World Heritage status could be removed if the current plan goes ahead.

The petition, which has gained 225,000 signatures from 147 countries, urges the UK Government to halt plans for the "damaging" road scheme.

Planning permission was first granted in 2020, but was later quashed in 2021 after a successful campaign at the High Court.

Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site successfully challenged approval of the scheme 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: "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 and boosting the economy in the south west.

"Ultimately, by removing the existing road we will return the Stonehenge landscape to something like its original setting.

"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."

'International embarrassment'

Chris Todd, director of Transport Action Network (TAN), a member of the Stonehenge Alliance and a director of SSWHS said it would be an "international embarrassment for the UK" if the site was to lose its World Heritage Status (WHS).

"Only three World Heritage Sites have ever been delisted since the signing of the World Heritage Convention in 1972," he said.

"The most recent was Liverpool in 2021, which also happened under this Government's watch.

"To lose one WHS is bad enough, but to lose two would show a failure of leadership and responsibility for both humanity and future generations."

John Adams, chair of the Stonehenge Alliance and another director of SSWHS said they want UNESCO to "appreciate" its opposition to "this highly damaging road scheme" is "strongly supported" by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

"We urge it to remain strong in the face of the UK Government's indifference to this iconic British heritage site," he said.

In August, SSWHS filed another claim with the High Court challenging the Government's decision.