Stonehenge campaigners welcome Unesco's calls for amendments

Stonehenge is one of 33 World Heritage Status sites in the UK

Campaigners against the construction of a road tunnel near Stonehenge have welcomed Unesco's calls for changes to the scheme.

There are concerns that the A303 road tunnel would threaten the monument's World Heritage Site (WHS) status.

Unesco has said the proposals "should not proceed" without amendments.

National Highways' plans, which it said were to "conserve and enhance" the site, were approved by the government in July.

Earlier this month however, the UN cultural body said it wanted the plans to be amended prior to a meeting of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in February 2024.

Although campaigners are satisfied with Unesco's latest move, they want action to be taken sooner.

'Globally significant'

John Adams is the chair of the Stonehenge Alliance (SA) and a director of Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS).

Earlier in September, he was part of a group that travelled to Unesco's headquarters in Paris to present a petition to the board, consisting of 225,000 signatures from 147 countries, calling for the road tunnel plans to be scrapped.

He said the meeting was "very positive" and the group's concerns were taken into account.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wiltshire, Mr Adams said: "A WHS might serve as evidence of our intellectual history on the planet.

"In that sense, it's not just significant for the UK - it's globally significant."

National Highways said Stonehenge would be "at the heart" of every decision

National Highways plans to build a two-mile (3.2km) tunnel from Amesbury to Berwick Down, in an attempt to combat "a long-standing traffic bottleneck" on the A303.

David Bullock, National Highways' Project Manager for the scheme, said it was designed to conserve and enhance World Heritage Status through collaborative working with heritage groups, the independent A303 Scientific Committee, and archaeology contractors.

He said: "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."

The plans have divided the public with some having suggested less damaging and cheaper measures, such as a hedge or fence, while others are in full support due to the level of emissions emitted by slow-moving, congested vehicles.

The plans for the road tunnel were approved in July, after legal action was taken by campaigners in 2021

A spokesperson from the Department for Transport said: "We have granted a Development Consent Order for the A303 Stonehenge road scheme.

"The decision letter sets out in full the reasons why it has been concluded that on balance the benefits of the scheme outweigh the harm."

Traffic often builds up along the A303, with many motorists slowing down to look at Stonehenge as they pass

Although Unesco have not disregarded the plans, the organisation wants the tunnel to be longer, so the excavation sites for the entry and exit are no longer within the "sensitive" landscape.

If the plans are not altered, Stonehenge could end up on the "in danger" list, at risk of losing its WHS status.

Mr Adams said: "Think of Canterbury Cathedral, the Lake District, the Egyptian Pyramids... the idea of building a dual carriageway and a flyover across part of those WHS seems extraordinary to me"

"It would be an international embarrassment and dishonour if the UK were to lose a second WHS under this government."