A DATE has been set for the High Court challenge to the Stonehenge tunnel project.
The three-day hearing will take place from Wednesday, June 23, to Friday, June 25.
Save Stonehenge WHS Ltd. (SSWHS) is challenging Transport Secretary Grant Shapps’ decision to go ahead with what it calls the "highly damaging" A303 dual carriageway through the World Heritage Site (WHS).
To mount the legal challenge, the group launched a fundraiser which topped £50,000.
New map final
The Inspectors said the scheme’s benefits “would not outweigh the harm arising from the excavation of a deep, wide cutting and other engineering works, within the WHS and its setting, of a scale and nature not previously experienced historically in this ‘landscape without parallel’”.
Mr Shapps said in his decision letter that he is "satisfied that there is a clear need case for the development", and that the "benefits identified weigh significantly in favour of it".
His decision was taken against the advice of a panel of five senior Planning Inspectors (the Examining Authority) who formally examined the scheme in 2019.
A303 Eastern Portal View
'A date gives us something to aim for'
Kate Fielden, Hon Secretary the Stonehenge Alliance and SSWHS, said: “Having a date for the court hearing gives us something to aim for in preparing for our challenge to Grant Shapps’ outrageous decision.
"We urge our supporters to help us to continue the fight to save our famous World Heritage Site from this appalling scheme. There can be no more iconic symbol of the global heritage of mankind than Stonehenge and we have a duty to safeguard it for future generations.”
SSWHS is a company established by individual Stonehenge Alliance supporters to take forward the legal action.
The Transport Secretary’s decision can be found on the Planning Inspectorate website.
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