Swindon & Wiltshire News
Stonehenge tunnel plans given go-ahead by government
Plans to dig a road tunnel near Stonehenge have been approved, the Department for Transport announced today (Friday).
The DfT approved the £1.7 billion two-mile tunnel through the World Heritage Site, with the aim of reducing traffic and cutting journey times on the A303 – a major route connecting London with the South West.
The proposed eight-mile dual carriageway between Amesbury and Berwick Down with its two-mile tunnel has the backing of Wiltshire Council.
Former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps gave the project the green light in November 2020 – despite warnings from Planning Inspectorate officials that it would cause “permanent, irreversible harm”.
Campaigners won a High Court battle in a bid to stop the project in 2021.
Transport secretary Mark Harper said today he was “satisfied there is a clear need” for the new tunnel and the project’s “harm on spatial, visual relations and settings is less than substantial and should be weighed against the public benefits”.
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