Representation by Nick Jones
- Date submitted
- 16 December 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The proposed tunnel will cause needless, irreparable damage to one of the world's, most iconic Word Heritage Sites. UNESCO describes it as a ‘landscape without parallel’, and its advisers say the scheme should not go ahead in its present form. The Site risks losing its World Heritage Status.
We now know that the cultural significance of this sacred landscape dates continuously from the early Mesolithic. This backstory is being painstakingly revealed at Blick Mead, and any damage to this site risks our better understanding of the co-evolution of the landscape.
The lack of consultation on options that would not damage the World Heritage Site is evidence that the UK is not taking seriously its responsibilities under the WH Convention, but is happy for short term transport solutions to undermine long-term conservation.
This not a conservation scheme, but it will remove any view of the stones and the landscape for those travelling across it, which has intrigued travellers for hundreds of years. And when the tunnel fails, as it is bound to from time to time, even more traffic chaos will be unleashed.