Extinction Rebellion 'shine a light' on Stonehenge tunnel opposition
The group's projected messages onto the Heel Stone there
Activists from Extinction Rebellion have been 'shining a light' on their opposition of the A303 Stonehenge tunnel project.
Extinction Rebellion (XR) members projected messages onto the Heel Stone at the monument, reading 'Standing for Stonehenge', 'Stop the Tunnel' and 'No New Roads'.
The scheme was controversially approved by the Transport Secretary last month, |newtab) paving the way for a 2 mile long tunnel, taking the A303 further away from the stone circle, and hiding it from view for visitors.
But the idea's come in for criticism, due to the impact on the UNESCO World Heritage Site and as it's believed it would encourage more cars onto the route.
(XR) also say that the scheme would mean 'massive disruption will be inevitable for many years to come during construction'.
Marion Malcher, from Extinction Rebellion, said:
“The decision to go ahead with this project is political. Building more roads just encourages more traffic. It’s completely pointless and destructive both locally and globally, totally ignoring what science is telling us as we see the floods and fires of climate breakdown unfold.”
Di Cross, from the Salisbury branch of the campaign group said:
“The planet is experiencing the sixth mass extinction in its long history, to even consider rolling in the bulldozers to any part of this precious landscape, the home to rare and threatened species is ecocide, a crime against nature.”
The projection was in collaboration with Sacred Earth Activism - Jonathan Weekes from there said:
“For millennia, people have travelled from far and wide, gathering in the Stonehenge landscape to celebrate life. It's time now for us to reaffirm this vital, sacred relationship with the land. We must protect our sacred sites from desecration by billion-pound vanity projects, like this Expressway, and choose to honour these landscapes rather than destroy them.”
The A303 project is being led by National Highways.
In a statement released when the approval came through, Chief Executive Nick Harris said:
“The A303 Stonehenge scheme is part of the biggest investment in our road network for a generation, and I’m really pleased the project has been given the green light by the Secretary of State for Transport – a decision which will enable us to progress this transformational scheme and deliver the planned benefits.
“It means we’re now a step closer to solving the longstanding issues of congestion and delays on the existing A303, improving journeys for all our customers and bringing much-need relief to local communities.
“The investment, along with other improvements along the A303, will help to boost the South West economy, improve journey reliability, remove the sight and sound of traffic from this very busy road and return one of our most important World Heritage Sites to something like its original setting."