National Highways has pushed back against recommendations made by Unesco that the road operator make ‘substantial’ amendments to its A303 Stonehenge tunnel plans, with interested parties invited to respond to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) by 28 September.
image: Sumit Surai, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
… building alternative options….would not be worth the additional cost…
GE plus writes:
The report, which contains the findings of an Unesco advisory mission undertaken in April this year, was submitted to former transport secretary Grant Shapps last month…
National Highways’ current proposal involves the construction of a new 12.8km two-lane dual carriageway, with a 3.2km tunnel, for the A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down in Wiltshire. National Highways has estimated that the scheme would cost £1.7bn to deliver.
The Unesco report found that, on the proposed scheme, construction of a dual carriageway in cuttings at either end of the tunnel would “adversely and irreversibly impact on the integrity” of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site (WHS).
It called for various other alternative options for the Stonehenge Tunnel route to be considered before the project is given the go-ahead…
It also said that “the proposed western portal of the current scheme, and associated dual carriageway within a cutting, should not proceed without substantial amendment to avoid adverse impacts on the WHS and the OUV [outstanding universal value] of the World Heritage property, to the fullest extent that is reasonably practicable”.
But National Highways has stood by its argument that building alternative options for the Stonehenge Tunnel route would not be worth the additional cost…
National Highways said that the report’s reference to “the fullest extent that is reasonably practicable” relates to the wording of Article 4 of the World Heritage Convention. This requires that each state party does “all it can” to protect and conserve cultural heritage “to the utmost of its own resources”. National Highways has claimed that it has already addressed this.
It added that, according to the convention, “state parties do not envisage absolute protection, but a level of protection of WHSs taking account of economic, scientific and technical limitations, and the integration of heritage protection into broader economic and social decision making. This interpretation was endorsed by the High Court in its decision on the judicial review.”
In its covering letter, National Highways A303 Stonehenge project director Derek Parody said: “We acknowledge that the mission still has concerns with the western portal approach. The provisions contained within the draft DCO, which include consultation and collaboration with heritage bodies on design matters, allow for refinement of the DCO scheme to ensure that opportunities identified with potential to minimise adverse impacts or maximise beneficial impacts on the WHS are acted upon.”…
Interested parties have been invited to provide responses to the Planning Inspectorate by 28 September.
Search the IHBC NewsBlog for more content and see the previous NewsBlog 02/09/22 on the need for the amendment
