Victory for A303 Stonehenge Tunnel campaigners as judge rules decision as "unlawful"
It went to the High Court last month
Last updated 2nd Aug 2021
A challenge by a group of campaigners who claimed that the Transport Secretary acted "unlawfully" when approving the A303 Stonehenge Tunnel scheme has proved successful.
The High Court ruling was delivered today following a judicial review of Grant Shapps’ decision brought by Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site.
Despite advice from planning inspectors saying the works would cause damage to the integrity of the site, Mr Shapps allowed the project to go ahead.
The judge agreed with the campaign group, saying the Transport Secretary had not properly assessed the risk of harm to each heritage asset within the site.
The judge found that he did not have the evidence to conclude that the project would cause “less than substantial harm” to the heritage assets within the WHS, which he deemed fatal to the lawfulness of the decision to grant development consent.
In reaching his judgment, Mr Justice Holgate said the Transport Secretary:
“…was not given legally sufficient material to lawfully carry out the ‘heritage’ balancing exercise required by paragraph 5.134 of the NPSNN and the overall balancing exercise required by s.104 of the PA 2008. Those balancing exercises required the impacts on significance of all affected assets to be weighed by the SST”
It was also concluded that an error of law was made as alternatives, like a longer tunnel, were not considered.
Overall, the judge agreed with the campaign group that:
• Harm to each heritage asset within the project should have been assessed individually rather than by way of considering the “historic environment” as a whole
• He left out of account a mandatory material consideration, specifically the existence of a potentially less damaging alternative in the form of a longer tunnel
Lawyers acting on behalf of Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site say that this ruling "effectively quashes development consent" for the road project.
John Adams, OBE, SSWHS Director and Acting Chairman of the Stonehenge Alliance, said:
“We could not be more pleased about the outcome of the legal challenge. The Stonehenge Alliance has campaigned from the start for a longer tunnel if a tunnel should be considered necessary. Ideally, such a tunnel would begin and end outside the WHS. But now that we are facing a climate emergency, it is all the more important that this ruling should be a wake-up call for the Government. It should look again at its roads programme and take action to reduce road traffic and eliminate any need to build new and wider roads that threaten the environment as well as our cultural heritage.”
A Historic England spokesperson said:
“We are disappointed in the outcome of the Judicial Review. This is a missed opportunity to remove the intrusive sight and sound of traffic past the iconic monument and to reunite the remarkable Stonehenge landscape, which has been severed in two by the busy A303 trunk road for decades. We believe that the scheme had the potential to deliver a lasting positive legacy for the World Heritage Site and we advised on a rigorous programme of archaeological investigation to ensure the impact on sensitive archaeological remains was minimised. Stonehenge is one of the most important prehistoric landscapes in the world and has been of deep significance to people for over 5,000 years. We will continue work with partners in the heritage sector and to advise Highways England on any proposals for the A303.”
Highways England have said they will now consider their options with the Department for Transport.