Stonehenge’s Shameful Short Tunnel

From a correspondent

English Heritage and the National Trust have been advocating a short tunnel for the A303 at Stonehenge, but what little benefit this affords does not outweigh the terrible adverse impact of tunnel entrances and infrastructure inside the World Heritage Site (WHS). This was predictably why the impact of any short tunnel would prove unacceptable to the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). Ultimately, following ICOMOS’s declaration of concern, proposals for a short tunnel will almost certainly be viewed adversely by the body that grants WHS status: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Were then a short tunnel to go ahead, there is a possibility that both Stonehenge and Avebury could lose WHS status. In addition to the economic, aesthetic, cultural and social losses this would be bound to induce, the loss of WHS status would result in a much bigger Stonehenge “national disgrace” than the former facilities ever were. In terms of a globally tarnished image it would not be just the future reputations of English Heritage and the National Trust that would be at stake, but that of the whole Nation! What generation wants that on its conscience?