The UK Government has called a halt to the controversial Stonehenge Bypass project. The A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down Development Consent Order 2023 has now been revoked.
The plan to build the £2.3 road tunnel close to the famous historical site of Stonehenge was approved by the previous UK Government but was suspended by the new administration following the election in June 2024. The project was cancelled due to exceptional circumstances by the Department for Transport (DfT).
The move will be welcomed by the Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS) and the Stonehenge Alliance, which have been against the project on both environmental and historical grounds. Archaeologists and environmentalists alike were against the project, as well as UNESCO, over concern at possible damage to the historic World Heritage Site.
Improving the A303 at this stretch was intended to cut congestion and prevent traffic delays, while also improving safety for drivers and local residents alike. The existing road along this section features a single lane in either direction and is not sufficient to cope with the heavy traffic demand. The A303 carries a high percentage of heavy large trucks while traffic volumes on the route peaks during holiday periods as the route is favoured by tourists. Most of the rest of the A303 features dual carriageway.
The project had been previously awarded in 2022 to a consortium comprising FCC, BeMoTunnelling and Webuild. The project had called for the construction of a new 12.km stretch of dual carriageway. The most controversial portion of the project was for the 3.2km dual tube tunnel passing 200m from Stonehenge.
The A303 upgrade project has been discussed for several decades. Various solutions have been proposed to improve the route.
This is by no means the first time the project has been cancelled. And it is inevitable that the project will be revived at some point in the future. Perhaps a new alignment will place the tunnel at a further distance from Stonehenge. Perhaps a longer tunnel will be used instead. But the fact that the existing road section is inadequate means the project will have to be revived eventually. And it is also inevitable that when the project is revived, it will cost significantly more. The poor ground conditions and the high water table mean that any tunnel will be costly. And the archaeological importance of the area means that a new road on the surface will not be acceptable.
