The Management of the World Heritage Site

Ownership and Stakeholders

The Stonehenge World Heritage Site, rich in prehistoric monuments, is also a farmed and living landscape The ownership and management of the World Heritage Site is shared between English Heritage (Stonehenge and Woodhenge), the National Trust (most of the landscape surrounding the stone circle), the Ministry of Defence, the RSPB, farmers and householders.

Many other organisations and individuals are also actively involved in managing the Stonehenge landscape and work in partnership to achieve the objectives of the WHS Management Plan. They include Natural England, the Highways Agency, Salisbury District Council, Wiltshire County Council, the parish councils, DEFRA and the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS). 

The World Heritage Site structure

Aerial view of the Neolithic Cursus (c 3600-3400BC)   Woodhenge, another  monument of the World Heritage Site To facilitate and coordinate the implementation of the Management Plan, a World Heritage Site Coordinator was appointed in 2001. She is based in the English Heritage office in Salisbury and  works closely with the many stakeholders involved at Stonehenge. She also maintains close links and works on joint projects with Avebury.

A steering group of key stakeholders, the Stonehenge World Heritage Site  Committee, meets quarterly to oversee the implementation of the Management Plan and to take decisions on priorities, new projects and funding.

A wider consultative group, the World Heritage Site Advisory Forum, meets at least annually to keep interested parties informed of progress and to provide an opportunity for consultation.

Funding for the World Heritage Site team and small-scale projects is mainly provided by English Heritage, with a smaller grant from the National Trust and the local authority. Most of the World Heritage Site projects are funded through specific grants negotiated for each project, such as the grass restoration scheme funded by Defra.

Stonehenge and Avebury were inscribed in 1986 as a single World Heritage Site and they have many issues in common. But as the priorities, the stakeholders involved and the management framework are different, they both have their own World Heritage Site Management Plan and Coordinator.