Campaigners against the Stonehenge tunnel have won the right to appeal a court decision which in February had allowed the £1.7bn scheme to go ahead.
Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS), who oppose the government’s two-mile tunnel on the A303, has now been granted permission to appeal the decision.
Preparatory work by government-owned National Highways had begun, but will now be delayed while legal arguments continue. Work on the tunnel itself was expected to begin in early 2025.
The scheme, backed by the local authority Wiltshire Council, involves overhauling eight miles of A-road in an effort to eliminate a traffic bottleneck and remove the busy road from the immediate vicinity of the ancient monument.
The project has been beset by legal challenges – the most recent being a High Court challenge by campaigners in December. However, a judicial review dismissed their challenge in February. This decision will now be appealed.
“The fight continues. The case is still live and the government is still in the dock,” says Chris Todd, director of SSWHS. He says if the new hearing is successful, the Development Consent Order to build the tunnel would have to be rejected.
National Highways project director David Bullock says: “We are hugely disappointed by this decision, which will cause more delays to the scheme as the next stage of the legal process unfolds.” He adds: “We still believe our project is the best solution to the ongoing issues along the A303 past Stonehenge.”
SSWHS contests the granting of the development consent order, claiming the government has not considered the risk to Stonehenge, has not assessed the climate impact, and has not properly assessed alternative routes.
All parties are awaiting the Court of Appeal hearing date, where both sides will present their cases again and the judge will rule on whether the challenge against the development consent order is upheld or not. SSWHS has to raise a further £34,000 for the hearing.
