Stonehenge Threatened by Massive New Road!
STONEHENGE THREATENED BY MASSIVE NEW ROAD!
The roadbuilders who trashed stunning landscapes and sacred sites at Twyford Down and Newbury are coming soon to a World Heritage Site near you – Stonehenge.
The British Government’s Highways Agency plans to widen the A303 road to four lanes near to Stonehenge. They claim that fully protecting the landscape and removing the road from the World Heritage Site would be 'unaffordable'. Instead, they're pretending they'll be doing Stonehenge a favour by putting a small part of the road in a tunnel.
DON’T BELIEVE THEM!
- Only the 1.3-mile-long middle section of the road, nearest to the stone circle, would be in a tunnel.
- Even with the tunnel, a substantial part of the other six miles of four-lane dual carriageway would be bulldozed at ground level, or in cuttings (deep trenches), through the priceless ancient landscape of Stonehenge, effectively splitting it in two.
- The huge new tunnel entrances, lit day and night, would both be inside the World Heritage Site and the sound of traffic would still be heard at the Stones.
- The new road would irreparably damage archaeological sites and their settings; it would be the largest man-made feature in a world-famous landscape specially designated for its unparalleled complex of prehistoric remains. Land under threat close to Stonehenge was bought by public subscription in the 1920s for the National Trust so that its future might be safely secured for the benefit of the nation.
- An extensive 'dumbell' interchange, including an A303 underpass, at Longbarrow Crossroads on the western edge of the World Heritage Site, would sever a Bronze Age settlement from its fields and make a nonsense of the setting of a magnificent barrow cemetery.
- The road plan is part of a wider agenda to dual the A303 from Basingstoke to the South West. But one-third of the cost of the Stonehenge stretch – with all the destruction it involves – is being funded from 'heritage' sources!
TROJAN HORSE MOTORWAY!
The Department for Transport talks about wanting to remove “20th-century clutter” from Stonehenge. It doesn’t mention all the “21st-century clutter” it’ll put in its place. This road is called the A303 Stonehenge Improvement. But it’s not about improving Stonehenge; it’s about sneakily trying to bulldoze a motorway through a World Heritage Site revered and respected by millions of people.
YOUR HENGE NEEDS YOU!
The planning application (“Draft Orders”) for the new scheme was announced on 3 June 2003 and you have until 4 September 2003 to object. If there are enough objections, the Government will hold a Public Inquiry where we can voice our concerns and put forward better alternatives. If you don't object, the road will go through on the nod.So please fill in the slip below, tear it off, and send it back straight away! Better still, make copies of this leaflet for your friends, put it up in public places, and write your own letter of objection to the Highways Agency.