A303 Stonehenge Tunnel delayed again as legal challenge upheld

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It seemed as though National Highways had the green light to commence work after receiving development consent order (DCO) for the scheme last summer and a High Court Judge dismissing the case against the DCO decision in February this year.

Campaign group Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS) had contested the granting of the DCO, claiming that the government had not considered the risk to the Stonhenge monument, had not assessed the climate impact of the scheme and had not properly assessed alternative routes that would take the road around the site without the need for tunnelling.

Justice Holgate dismissed the group’s case, saying its points were “unarguable”. However, SSWHS has now heard that the Court of Appeal has upheld its challenge against this ruling.

National Highways has said it is “hugely disappointed by this decision, which will cause more delays to this scheme as the next stage of the legal process unfolds”.

The £1.7bn scheme will see the construction of a new 12.8km dual carriageway to replace the existing A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down. It will include a new 3.3km tunnel that will go beneath the Stonehenge Unesco World Heritage site.

Opponents have long protested the plan for fear of the damage it could cause to the world-renowned historic visitor attraction and the additional pollution in the area.

The roads body’s DCO is still in place so the scheme isn’t cancelled, but it is indefinitely delayed.

“This extra legal process will delay the start of our preliminary works and we’ll need to adjust the whole main works programme accordingly”, it said. “We don’t know what that will look like yet, because we don’t know the extent of the delay.

“We can’t determine the length of that legal process, and we will need to work closely with DfT and our legal teams to understand what our next steps are.”

All parties are awaiting an update from the Court of Appeal to find out the date of the hearing.

At the hearing, both sides will present their cases once again and the judge will rule as to whether the challenge against the DCO is upheld or not. If it is not upheld, this will be the last hurdle before National Highways can commence the construction of the contentious scheme.

If the judge rules in favour of SSWHS, the Department for Transport will have decide how to proceed, working with National Highways project team on the best course of action.

The recently commenced work to install high voltage and fibre optic cabling that will provide power for the construction of the Stonehenge Tunnel will continue as planned. This means the A360, between the junction of The Avenue and Longbarrow junction on the A303, will remain closed for the next couple of months.

Responding to the scheme, National Highways A303 Stonehenge project director David Bullock, said: “We are hugely disappointed by this decision, which will cause more delays to this scheme as the next stage of the legal process unfolds.

“However we will participate fully in any future legal proceedings to continue to present the case for the scheme, working closely with DfT.”

SSWHS representative Chris Todd said: “The fight continues. The case is still live and the government is still in the dock.”

Stonehenge Alliance chair and one of SSWHS director John Adams said: “This is extremely good news. All those who care passionately about our cultural heritage can breathe a sigh of relief. We now have a new opportunity for the Government decision to be thoroughly scrutinised.

“This road scheme would be incredibly damaging to Stonehenge World Heritage Site. Yet, the Government doesn’t seem to care and is desperately trying to bulldoze through this decision before it is thrown out of office.”

Leigh Day solicitor Rowan Smith said: “This news is very encouraging for our client. In granting permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal acknowledged the scale of public interest around ensuring that a decision about the future of Stonehenge is lawful.

“The Court said there is a compelling reason for an appeal hearing. Our client is looking forward to presenting arguments about the fairness of the decision-making process relating to the future of Stonehenge as well as compliance with international law protecting the World Heritage Site.”

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