Representation by Fiona Frank
- Date submitted
- 11 December 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The creation of a A303 Stonehenge Expressway would cause irreparable damage to the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge, thus affecting its archaeology and setting, described by UNESCO as a ‘landscape without parallel’.
I believe that UNESCO’s international advisers say the scheme should not go ahead in its present form which surely must be considered.
Archeologically it is such a sensitive site and there are big concerns about damage to the Blick Mead Mesolithic site and its setting.
Why are there not any alternative options presented in this consultation that would seek NOT to damage this World Heritage Site. It seems a bit of a mockery to me.
Stonehenge is our legacy from our ancestors and we do have human rights to see and access this site without compromise in this desecratory manner. The proposals would obviously cause a loss of the view from the road and impose costs for the people in order to even see the Stones in the future with this inflexible proposal.
As a keen bird watcher, I am aware of more disturbances with this turbulent desecration and that is the disturbance of rare bird species such as the Stone Curlew and the Great Bustard. Our country is small and suffering with promise of such so called relief roads etc.... actually you need to provide excellent affordable public transport. Please recognise the dreadful impact of these proposals. It is obvious that there will be also increased noise from faster traffic as another negative impact. Please respect our environment before we have nothing but a derelict spaghetti of concrete and pollution. This is a serious plea.
After 11 January a panel of planning Inspectors will be appointed, known as the “Examining Authority”. They will review the representations and outline their proposals for the Examination which is likely to start sometime in February 2019.
The Examination, which is mostly carried out in writing and not by cross-examination, will only last for 6 months which is an incredibly short period to address some pretty major issues. This will put a lot of pressure on bodies such as the Stonehenge Alliance, which do not have the benefit of huge resources, unlike Highways England which will throw vast sums of public money at this examination and employ numerous consultants.
Apart from the increased noise from faster traffic, there will be irreparable damage to the WHS, its archaeology and setting, described by UNESCO as a ‘landscape without parallel’. It is nothing less than sacrilege to an ancient site of unique heritage to our world , nevermind our country. Would you do this to the pyramids? Are you aware that UNESCO’s international advisers say the scheme should not go ahead in its present form? It seems that there are a lack of alternative options in consultation that would not damage the World Heritage Site. Why? This does not seem a fair and balanced process. One great travesty could be the loss of the view from the road and the enforced need to pay to even see the Stones in the future, if this should be permitted to happen. Archeologically speaking, there are grave concerns about damage to Blick Mead Mesolithic site and its setting. They are precious sites of important evidence about our forefathers and our ancestral inheritance. Have you even thought about the natural world around this site, that supports a great deal of wildlife? We are not a huge country and more and more wild spaces are being eroded by roads and building. Here you will be disturbing and threatening many creatures including rare birds such as the once prolific Stone Curlew and the Great Bustard, whom are now finding it already a challenge to survive. Please, please rethink this whole project, because there are 1000s of years involved in this and we cannot reclaim it once you have ploughed roads through this area of outstanding global recognition.