Campaigners launch Excessive Courtroom battle to cease Stonehenge highway tunnel

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Campaigners are set for a Excessive Courtroom battle with the federal government over plans to construct a tunnel near the good circle of Stonehenge which they declare may put the prehistoric web site’s Unesco world heritage standing in danger.

A bunch of “largely retired” archaeologists, environmentalists, historians, transport specialists, countryside campaigners and druids will attempt to cease the constructing of a two-mile highway tunnel alongside the A303 in Wiltshire – a significant route between the southeast and southwest.

Highways England (HE) says site visitors on the prevailing single-carriageway is usually a “each day battle” for a lot of and that the tunnel will “kind out” a highway that “doesn’t work” for individuals who stay, work and vacation in Wiltshire and South West England.

However the Stonehenge Alliance (SA) argues that the undertaking will tremendously hurt the world close to Stonehenge, one of many world’s most well-known monuments,  which dates again to the late Neolithic Age and attracts greater than 1,000,000 guests yearly.

“Within the face of presidency indifference to the hurt this highway will trigger…we had no selection however to carry this authorized motion,” John Adams, SA chair, stated forward of the courtroom present down. “As earlier than we hope we’re profitable in overturning this proposed vandalism. We hope justice will probably be served over the subsequent three days.”

Save Stonehenge World Heritage Web site (SSWH), an organization set as much as carry the authorized problem and intently linked to SA, is in search of a judicial evaluation of the federal government’s determination to greenlight the undertaking, after the marketing campaign group scored a earlier victory in a ruling handed down by Mr Justice Holgate in July 2021, quashing a Improvement Consent Order given to HE to press forward with the work.

In 2019, earlier than hovering inflation hit the UK, the federal government put the undertaking’s worth at £1.7bn – SA claims it’ll find yourself costing £2.5bn.

Dan Snow, the British historian and tv presenter, stated it was “astonishing” that the federal government was persisting with such a “damaging scheme” when it was being met with “a lot” opposition and urged ministers to “provide you with one thing higher”.

Rowan Smith, a solicitor for Leigh Day, stated: “Regardless of this highway growth being so controversial, and regardless of essential new issues which required correct scrutiny, the secretary of state ignored requires a contemporary public examination.

“Our shoppers think about that was unfair and probably a breach of human rights. Additionally, no regard in anyway was given to the chance that Stonehenge would lose its world heritage standing if plans had been accredited, which our shoppers say was plainly irrational. We look ahead to presenting these arguments to the courtroom.”

The federal government declined to remark.

David Bullock, A303 undertaking director for NE, stated: “We acknowledge there’s a clear course of for any authorized problem, we’re collaborating in that authorized course of and we stay assured this scheme is one of the best resolution for tackling a long-standing site visitors bottleneck, enhancing journeys, bringing a lot wanted reduction to native communities and boosting the economic system within the southwest, whereas conserving and enhancing the World Heritage Web site.

“Within the meantime, and following the granting of the scheme’s Improvement Consent Order, we’re persevering with to plan and make preparations for beginning preliminary work and archaeology fieldwork on web site in 2024.”