Legal proceedings threatened after Stonehenge Tunnel plans approved
Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site have contacted the government about their concerns
The first steps towards a legal challenge against the proposed Government plans to construct a tunnel on the A303 have been made.
Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS) has sent a pre-application protocol letter to the Government outlining concerns over the approval, which came earlier this month.
This is the predecessor to filing a claim for judicial review, which needs to be made by 25th August.
Chris Todd, one of SSWHS’s directors says the approval decision has stuck two fingers up at UNESCO, who had requested the government do not approve the scheme ahead of it’s World Heritage Committee meeting in September.
He said: “It has basically approved this highly flawed and damaging proposal for a second time. The same scheme that was thrown out in 2021. We believe there are strong grounds why this approval should also be struck down. We will do everything within our power to safeguard this most iconic of sites for future generations.”
More than just stones
This weekend is the second anniversary of the original development consent being quashed after a successful application for judicial review was made by SSWHS in 2021.
The Government was criticised for not having assessed alternatives properly.
Suzanne Keene is a member of the Stonehenge Alliance, and says the site is more than just the stones.
“It is a complex and hugely rich archaeological landscape without comparison. For the Government to be so dismissive of the huge damage that National Highways scheme will cause is deeply worrying.”