Stonehenge tunnel ditched, wildlife safe - for now

19/07/2007 00:00:00 The government has decided that, at more than £500 Million, the option of a road tunnel at Stonehenge is just too expensive.

However fears for rare wildlife thriving around Stonehenge have been eased by the government’s promise that there will be no overground by-pass near the ancient monument.
The Department for Transport has admitted that ‘significant environmental constraints’ mean there are no acceptable alternatives to the tunnel, which was recommended by public inquiry in 2004.

Tony Richardson, South-West Regional Director for the RSPB, said: ‘The tunnel was an opportunity to improve the wonderful landscape of Stonehenge, the experience for its visitors and the safety of passing motorists.

‘It is a great shame that it is not going ahead but a huge relief that the government has rejected overground alternatives that would dissect the site. The tunnel was the most environmentally sensitive option. We hope that changes to planning law do not make an overground road easier to push through in future.’

The RSPB backed the tunnel proposal but strongly opposed overground bypasses put forward as alternatives more recently.
Those roads would have put at risk the rare stone-curlew for which Wiltshire’s chalk grassland is one of only two main UK breeding sites for the bird. Also in danger were more than 20 other bird species, butterflies and rare plants, all of which would have been harmed by road building disturbance.