National Highways visits Guildhall to explain Stonehenge tunnel

The comments came at an event National Highways at Salisbury Guildhall on Tuesday (April 30).

National Highways' £1.7bn scheme to build a tunnel on the A303 will not go ahead until the outcome of a legal appeal against a High Court judgement is determined.

It was announced on February 19 that a second judicial review of the Government's decision to approve the Stonehenge tunnel was unsuccessful.

Andrew Clark, senior project manager for National Highways, who was at the Tuesday, April 30 event to answer questions from the public, said its general practice to engage with the community when any major project is about to begin.

Mr Clark said: “It’s always well worth keeping people informed.”

Mr Clark said the legal process has made the start date of the project unclear, as the court system follows its own schedule, but National Highways has “guesstimated late spring or early summer”.

The legal challenge was launched by the Stonehenge Alliance as part of its Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site campaign.

Opponents of the scheme claim the project threatens valuable archaeological sites and will make views of Stonehenge less accessible.

SEE ALSO: Salisbury man helps break world record at London Marathon

National Highways hosted an event at the Guildhall on Tuesday, April 30, alongside representatives from Wessex Archaeology and Octavius, to answer the public's questions about the Stonehenge tunnel project. (Image: Newsquest)

Andrew Manning, southern regional manager for Wessex Archaeology, said the project provides many opportunities for discovery of new artefacts and information, most notably from the Mesolithic era, little of which has been found in the area to date.

Mr Manning said: “Any info on the Mesolithic is going to be vital.”

Mr Manning there is still a lot of debate as to exactly where in the area people were living during ancient times. There are hopes flint artefacts can be found, as the material is very durable.

Nevertheless, Mr Manning said the tunnel would have an impact on the area.

He said: “Within the World Heritage Site there is an impact.”

Nevertheless, Mr Manning added no construction project in Wiltshire is without an archaeological impact, given the county’s long and rich history.

He said: “If you were in a position where you didn’t want to harm any archaeology whatsoever, there wouldn’t be any development.”

In terms of accessibility to views of Stonehenge, Mr Clark said the public right-of-way for the existing road would be retained and converted into a bridleway, with only motorised traffic moved underground. He added that to completely remove human travel from this route would not be authentic to the landscape, as the path has been used for human travel for thousands of years.

Mr Clark said: “The road that has always been there will still be there. What we’re getting rid of is the cars and the buses.

“It’s not seeing Stonehenge from the road. It’s seeing the road from Stonehenge.”