UK court overturns govt go-ahead for Stonehenge road tunnel

[Judi Lynn]

Issued on: 30/07/2021 - 19:36
Modified: 30/07/2021 - 19:34



UNESCO had warned the road tunnel put at risk Stonehenge's World Heritage Site status Adrian DENNIS AFP
2 min

London (AFP)

A British court on Friday overturned government approval for the construction of a controversial road tunnel close to the Stonehenge stone circle, following opposition from historians, archaeologists and druids.

The ruling came after UNESCO confirmed that the prehistoric site would be added to its "in danger" list if the project went ahead and warned it could lose its World Heritage Site status.

The High Court ruled in favour of a judicial review and threw out consent for the road-building project given by the Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, in November 2020.

Those opposed to the plan, including an umbrella group called the Stonehenge Alliance, had warned against the massive engineering project in an area full of archaeological treasures around the standing stones, with the road tunnel starting and ending within the site.

Druids who revere the mystical monument as sacred also protested against the scheme.

. . .

Historian Tom Holland, who has campaigned against the plan, tweeted that the decision was "wonderful news".

"Hoping the Government will accept this ruling, & save the £2 billion of taxpayers' money they were planning to blow on a shameful act of desecration," he added.

More:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210730-uk-court-overturns-govt-go-ahead-for-stonehenge-road-tunnel

[ProudMNDemocrat]

1. Been there.

There is an aura with those rocks. The site itself is historic. Hate to see it messed up.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I am SO relieved to read this. I'd read about it before and I was afraid it would happen. n/t

[NBachers]

3. Who's Bloody bright idea was this?

[Escurumbele]

4. I went to school around there, it is a majestic place

What is wrong with people, there is no respect for anything anymore, I guess it is not the god of the dollar but the god of the pound as well.

It is ignorance to a high degree. For one they must have known there would have be a lot of resistance to that idea, but the lack of respect for history is a sign of a high level of ignorance and greed.

[jeffreyi]

5. Gee, it's been there for how long

And it's a world treasure, and an irreplaceable economic and cultural center, so...let's screw it up! Thank goodness the assholes are held at bay for awhile.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. I visited Stonehenge in 1970, when visitors could still walk

entirely through it. Lucky me.