Stonehenge Visitor Centre Approved

Stonehenge English Heritage welcomes the Secretary of State's decision to grant planning permission for the new Visitor Facilities and Access Scheme at Stonehenge, but urges the Government to approve the Published Scheme for A303 road improvements at the earliest possible date.

In a letter to English Heritage, Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government stated that the scheme can only go ahead once the government has approved the published A303 roads scheme, which includes a flyover at Countess Road, a 2.1km bored tunnel, a bypass round Winterbourne Stoke and junction improvements at Longbarrow Crossroads.

Traffic on the A344 Sir Neil Cossons, Chairman of English Heritage, said: "We are delighted that our proposal for new visitor facilities has got over the final hurdle in planning terms. It is a vindication of the integrity and the distinctive merits of the scheme, which will transform the visitor experience and form a crucial part of our commitment to manage the World Heritage Site." 

"We accept that it is reasonable for planning permission to be conditional on the road improvements going ahead, as there is no doubt that the two projects are conceived in conjunction with each other to produce the maximum benefits.  English Heritage believes that the Published Scheme is the only deliverable solution that would provide the dualled A303 that is so urgently needed, while at the same time unlocking the enormous public benefits to be gained by giving Stonehenge the setting it deserves. "

"We urge the Government to give its support to the Published Scheme for the A303 and to announce its decision without further delay. Failure to do so would be to miss out on a unique opportunity to do the right thing for Stonehenge and its visitors. "

The Published Scheme, which is one of the road options being considered by the Government and involves the tunnelling of the A303 past Stonehenge, will free the monument of road intrusions and traffic and reunite the stone circle with its surrounding ancient landscape. Both the Published Scheme and the new visitor facilities need to be delivered in full if the UK is to fulfil its responsibilities under the World Heritage Convention.