English Heritage’s plans are the culmination of months of working closely with a range of stakeholders and engaging with local residents.
The scheme fulfils a long standing ambition to improve the facilities on offer to the many hundreds of thousands who visit each year and to restore a sense of dignity to the setting of one of the world’s most loved ancient monuments. It includes:
- a new environmentally sensitive visitor centre 1.5miles away at Airman’s Corner with high quality exhibition and education facilities;
- a low-key visitor transit system that will transport visitors from the visitor centre to a drop-off point close to the Stones;
- removal of the current car park and facilities at the Stones. The area will be returned to grass, leaving only a minimal operations/security base and emergency toilets;
- closure of the A344. Wiltshire Council will apply to restrict motorised vehicles on the A344 from the Stones to Airman’s Corner (with exemptions) and also on byways within the World Heritage Site; and
- an upgrade of the Airman’s Corner road junction to a roundabout. The Highways Agency will also make improvements at Longbarrow Crossroads to mitigate the effects of the A344 closure.
When completed, the new visitor centre will make it possible for the first time to present the fascinating story of Stonehenge on site. The archaeological gallery will feature important objects on loan from local museums and outside will be three Neolithic houses, recreated using extremely rare evidence of domestic buildings from prehistoric England recently unearthed near Stonehenge.
