The Stonehenge tunnel delay: officialdom speaks (partly through silence and partly through gobbledygook!)

The pro short tunnel archaeological bodies have been placed in a tricky position by this second delay. Do they now say they regret that the gouging of a dual carriageway across the World Heritage landscape against UNESCO’s wishes has been delayed? Their reactions so far suggest they don’t quite know what to say!

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Highways England: “We are confident that the proposed scheme presents the best solution for tackling a longstanding bottleneck”. So no reaction to the actual delay, just sullen stonewalling. If they’re confident it’s the best scheme what do they think the delay is about?! (Yet again, their PR Department looks out of its depth).

Historic England – no response so far, Why? They’re a leading proponent.

English Heritage – no response so far, Why? They’re a leading proponent.

The National Trust: “we are working closely with our partners to help inform and challenge Highways England to deliver a scheme that protects the special qualities of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site and finally addresses the major harm the existing A303 does to this extraordinary place.” So still supporting the destruction when even the Government appears to be balking at it!

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The extreme discomfiture of all four bodies is plain to see. But that’s on their public faces, what about all the archaeologists they employ, surely some (or most?) of those are appalled by the scheme? Yet none of them say anything. Strange, isn’t it?

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