Stonehenge could be added to a list of ‘in danger’ World Heritage Sites due to plans to expand the nearby A303 and build a tunnel through the landscape.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is proposing the site be added to the danger list. Other World Heritage Sites on the list include those in Afghanistan and Syria.
The £1.7bn proposed Stonehenge project involves creating a two-lane dual carriageway for the A303 in Wiltshire, including a two-mile tunnel 200m away from Stonehenge and up to 40m deep.
Member states of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will vote on the issue when they meet next month in New Dehli, India.
The UNESCO draft written decision argued: “The name Stonehenge applies to both the main henge and to the wider landscape, and this has at times led to confusion.
“What needs to be protected is not just the henge but the overall landscape of which the henge is a central focus.”
UNESCO is asking the government to discontinue or modify the scheme. It hopes that adding the site to the danger list will “mobilise international support”.
The road and tunnel scheme are aimed at tackling local congestion. You can see what the proposed tunnel will look like here.
In 2022 National Highways awarded the tunnel and main construction works contract to the MORE joint venture, comprising FCC Construcción, WeBuild and BeMo Tunnelling.
Plans around the A303 extension at Stonehenge have been controversial with a protracted legal battle.
Designed ritual landscape
The UNESCO draft written decision added: “This monument has to be considered in its context, surrounded by and inextricably linked to a large number of prehistoric features, which together form an ancient landscape.
“It is the entirety of the inscribed landscape that constitutes the Stonehenge component of the property, not just the main henge monument.
“This interrelated ensemble of sites is regarded as a designed ritual landscape, with barrows and other features deliberately sited to be mutually visible.
“The proposed cuttings would sever some of those important connections and compromise the integrity of this prehistoric landscape.”
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport was unable to comment due to pre-election restrictions on reporting.
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One assumes the main reason for the tunnel is to ease traffic congestion – the main cause of which is vehicles slowing down to look at the stone structure, surely a simple and cheaper answer is to build a fence between the road and the stones to obscure the view and stop people slowing down to view?
There is no need for a tunnel or to widen the A303. This is just a reason for wasting more of my taxes.