Stonehenge Alliance Position Statement: 5 June 2003

THE STONEHENGE ALLIANCE

Position Statement June 2003

The Stonehenge Alliance is a group of organisations and individuals opposed to the Government"s scheme for widening the A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down, which proposes a 2.1km bored tunnel close to the Stones and 2.4km of above-ground dual carriageway within the Stonehenge World Heritage Site (WHS).This road scheme is part of a minimally consulted "Stonehenge Master Plan" (now renamed "The Stonehenge Project") and it coincides with the Government"s plan to make the A303 into a "strategic route" to the South West.

The Stonehenge Alliance supports the principles of the widely agreed Stonehenge Management Plan which recognises that the whole archaeological and spiritual landscape of the WHS is of outstanding international importance and should be conserved — not just that part nearest to the henge monument.

The Stonehenge Alliance also strongly supports the concerns raised by ICOMOS UK.^* These include:

• "The proposal . . . does not go far enough in healing the scars in the Stonehenge landscape or in making it available for people to enjoy in peace and quiet";
• "The short tunnel would not allow reinstatement of key spatial features and associations within the WHS . . . which in visual as well as access terms would remain compromised";
• "the Stonehenge landscape . . . should . . . not be a candidate for an above ground dual carriageway"; and
• "The benefit analysis should include intangible as well as tangible benefits. This means considering the very high local, national and international "existence" value of the Stonehenge landscape and the "bequest" value put on it by those who believe it to be a key part of their national and international heritage".

The Alliance calls for an holistic approach to sustainable management of the landscape and archaeology of the Stonehenge WHS and its visitors, in line with the aims of the WHS Management Plan and the requirements of the World Heritage Convention. This would involve putting the"Stonehenge Project" on hold, giving priority to the Management Plan, and reconsidering proposals for the A303 in the light of ICOMOS UK"s statements of concern.

* The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is the official adviser to UNESCO on cultural World Heritage Sites.

THE STONEHENGE ALLIANCE IS SUPPORTED BY:
Ancient Sacred Landscapes Network; CPRE; Friends of the Earth;
The Pagan Federation; RESCUE: The British Archaeological Trust;
Transport 2000 and others