Highways England Consultation - A303/Stonehenge | Forum

Stonehenge and its Environs 134

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Highways England Consultation — A303/Stonehenge

tjj Jan 15, 2017 00:18:16

This has been touched upon under another topic where I said I wouldn't say anymore until I had something useful to contribute. Here it is:

https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.com/cip/a303-stonehenge/

Please read and comment if you wish (not necessarily here). Stonehenge is as mysterious and enigmatic as some of the more far flung ancient monuments in the British Isles - it really is. Lets get this road/tunnel decision right for posterity.

A knowledgeable friend who probably would not want to be named here says:
"Time is short so please friends start reading and sharing to stop the tunnel."

thesweetcheat Jan 15, 2017 09:43:14

Replying to tjj

Thanks June, just added as a news story too for non-forum visitors.

Lots to digest in the papers. The maps show the proposed routes and the position of the monuments.

tjj Jan 16, 2017 10:33:06

Replying to tjj

I apologise for plugging away at this on the forum as I'm sure many people think it's a done deal and Stonehenge is a lost cause anyway. If anything all this has made me realise how precious Stonehenge is along with the World Heritage Site it sits in.
However indispensable we thinks cars/fast roads are, they are in fact a blight on our planet.

Here is a piece from the Architects Journal which quotes Mike Hayworth from the Council for British Archaeology.

".... Council for British Archaeology director Mike Hayworth said many heritage organisations would still like to see a longer tunnel, as it is ’almost impossible’ to avoid damaging the area if the development took place as currently planned.
He said: ’Stonehenge sits within a very significant, internationally recognised prehistoric landscape.
’On the western end where the portal tunnel comes out … this is in quite a sensitive area where there are lots of barrows [prehistoric monuments]. I’d like to know exactly where that portal is ... "

https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/stonehenge-tunnel-archaeology-chief-raises-concerns/10016430.article#.WHybLQarnSw.facebook

thesweetcheat Jan 18, 2017 20:39:10

Replying to tjj

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-35322444

moss Jan 24, 2017 10:37:04

Replying to tjj

Done deal?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-38716246

tjj Feb 5, 2017 10:59:06

Replying to tjj

Apologies for bumping this up again. I do so because it really is important even though it is hard to stay engaged in the debate. In some ways this links into my post 'Do museums have a future' - the Wiltshire Museum or the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society (WANHS) have weighed into the debate with a draft response. They are asking members to read and give their views.
http://www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/news/index.php?Action=8&id=191&page=0

Draft Response -
http://www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/uploads/library/13/294/WANHS_A303_draft.pdf

I am not currently a member of the WANHS (though may join again) so as such can't comment but the above document is clear and well laid out. Worth reading.

tjj Feb 8, 2017 09:46:40

Replying to tjj

While people I greatly respect continue to fight the good fight with Highways England I find it hard to continue to engage in the discussions/debates and consultations. Have always been against building new roads based on the premise there far too many already - so a tunnel of any length seems an anathema to me (let the good earth sleep). While at a friend's house yesterday I picked up Tom Fort's book about the A303 with its iconic front cover - see article below ...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/may/14/a303-highway-sun-fort-review
"But the A303 has much history on its side – or to either side. Fort's account of succeeding attempts to explain Stonehenge are worth the detour, and I am inclined to agree with his suggestion that the real reason that nothing has been done about diverting the road away from the stones is not due to the intransigence of the various departments, but down to the fact that, deep down, we kind of like the arrangement of road and monument the way it is."
Feeling this view is perhaps now redundant I didn't borrow the book as I originally intended.

But this morning I read another viewpoint by Professor George Nash. This is a viewpoint I get ... please take a little minute to read it.
https://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2017/02/08/the-stonehenge-tunnel-another-viewpoint/

moss Feb 9, 2017 15:08:01

Replying to tjj

Now whether you want to believe this or not. Note that Wikipedia has dropped the Daily Mail for being an unreliable source today....... but the Stonhenge news was on an alert this morning.....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4203156/Plans-tunnel-Stonehenge-dropped.html

tjj Feb 18, 2017 15:02:37

Replying to tjj

This Youtube film has been around for a few days - I've watched it myself a few times. The horse's mouth I would say .... just over six minutes long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOId71SoQnA

For anyone in a hurry or with limited data allowance, there is a shorter version where JR talks specifically about the impact on Bush Barrow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfDWI91AxZU

thesweetcheat Feb 24, 2017 18:40:41

Replying to tjj

New piece from Dan Hicks:

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/englands-heritage-bodies-supporting-stonehenge-bypass/

tjj Feb 26, 2017 08:59:03

Replying to tjj

Once again apologies to bumping up this now over long thread - it's all I can do really. I've just signed a FoE Petition which I particularly like for its clear language.
https://act.foe.co.uk/act/save-stonehenge-world-heritage-site?refsid=211655

moss Feb 27, 2017 11:20:36

Replying to tjj

That William Turner of Oxford painting of 'Twilight at Stonehenge' is something I would definitely hang on the wall. Not sure if anyone has already uploaded this one...

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/englands-heritage-bodies-supporting-stonehenge-bypass/

moss Mar 1, 2017 12:59:47

Replying to tjj

Well this - 'A303 Stonehenge feedback from a consortium of Stonehenge experts
27 February 2017 ', spells out from a very eminent group of archaelogists how they feel......

http://www.sarsen.org/2017/03/a303-stonehenge-feedback-from.html

tjj Mar 6, 2017 08:49:31

Replying to tjj

https://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/statement-on-the-stonehenge-short-tunnel-by-21-experts/

thesweetcheat Mar 16, 2017 18:31:08

Replying to tjj

New summary blog:

https://blog.stonehenge-stone-circle.co.uk/2017/03/16/the-knotty-problem-of-the-a303-and-stonehenge/

tjj Mar 31, 2017 20:12:35

Replying to tjj

"Could a road tunnel at Stonehenge destroy one of the world's most important archaeological sites? A landowner speaks exclusively to Inside Out West's Seb Choudhury."
Seb Choudhury talks about the impact of a tunnel on Bush Barrow and visits Wiltshire Museum in Devizes to look at the unique artefacts found in the Barrow. He also visits Blick Mead and talks to David Jacques.
First item in, shown at 7.30pm ths evening on BBC1 - will be available on iplayer very shortly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08kgv1d

tjj Jun 15, 2017 22:29:57

Replying to tjj

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-40286120?SThisFB