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The UK authorities has permitted a controversial plan to construct a two-mile tunnel near the traditional web site of Stonehenge, a transfer described as “disgraceful” by opposing heritage teams. Mark Harper, the transport secretary, has determined to greenlight the controversial undertaking which was initially costed at £1.7bn.
The overhaul of the realm, overseen by the federal government company referred to as Nationwide Highways, entails rerouting the A303 highway which runs alongside the prehistoric Wiltshire web site into a brand new dual-carriageway tunnel whereas the present A303 might be become a public walkway.
Unesco has beforehand formally opposed the plan, saying in 2019 that the tunnel initiative may have an “adversarial affect”. In 2021, it warned that Stonehenge could possibly be placed on its listing of World Heritage websites at risk if the tunnel undertaking was not modified (Unesco had not responded to a request for remark on the time of writing).
In November 2020, Grant Shapps, the then transport secretary, permitted the scheme however a Excessive Courtroom ruling in 2021, which raised issues concerning the environmental affect on the Unesco World Heritage Website, meant the undertaking was quashed.
In a 64-page doc, Harper mentioned he was “glad” that the undertaking’s “hurt on spatial, visible relations and settings is lower than substantial and must be weighed in opposition to the general public advantages”. In the meantime, Nick Harris, the chief govt of Nationwide Highways, instructed the Telegraph that the proposed scheme will “take away the sight and sound of site visitors from this very busy highway and return certainly one of our most vital World Heritage Websites to one thing like its unique setting”.
However Michael Parker Pearson, a professor of British later prehistory at College School London, tells The Artwork Newspaper: “I am upset by the weak spot of [conservation body] Historic England in all of this. They’re purported to struggle for preservation of the stays of our historic previous, and so they’ve failed. Unesco, the CPRE Countryside Charity and the Council for British Archaeology, in addition to the Planning Inspectors and the Excessive Courtroom, have all mentioned this scheme is not ok. However Historic England have rolled over to Nationwide Highways.”
Certainly, in an announcement, Duncan Wilson, the chief govt of Historic England says he’s “very happy” by the federal government’s determination. “By placing a lot of the busy A303 right into a tunnel previous Stonehenge, the intrusive sight and sound of site visitors previous the long-lasting monument might be considerably decreased. The scheme will permit this excellent prehistoric panorama, which has been of deep significance to individuals for over 5,000 years, to be reconnected,” he provides.
In the meantime Tom Holland, the president of an affiliation of marketing campaign teams referred to as The Stonehenge Alliance, says in an announcement: “The choice of Mark Harper to greenlight the constructing of a tunnel via a stretch of the World Heritage Website that surrounds Stonehenge is as inexplicable as it’s disgraceful.”
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