Controversial Stonehenge tunnel plans scrapped

Campaigners who had opposed the plans welcomed DfT’s decision to scrap the project.

The Stonehenge Alliance, a vocal opponent of the proposals, described the scheme as having “never made sense culturally, strategically, nor economically”.

The Alliance’s acting chairman, Mike Birkin, said: “The granting of the DCO was always perverse given the enormous damage it would have caused to the unique landscape of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site (WHS). 

“The scheme was condemned by planning inspectors as well as UNESCO’s experts yet the government at the time rode roughshod over the evidence.”

Birkin noted that scrapping the Stonehenge scheme would provide an opportunity to invest in active travel and public transport routes in the region.

“The rail network to the South West suffers from a degraded infrastructure which is notoriously unreliable and vulnerable to extreme weather events,” he added. 

“Upgrading the network would contribute to the government’s commitment to reducing car mileage as recommended by the Climate Change Committee.” 

The government halted the project in July 2024, but the DCO had remained in place following approval by the previous government in 2023. 

In November 2025, the government published a draft revoking order, signalling its intention to formally cancel the project.

At the time, local council leaders condemned the move, calling it a “damaging and short-sighted decision”.

In a joint statement, leaders from Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole councils said revoking the DCO would be “a major step backwards for the Wessex area and beyond”.