Representation by Mrs Sonia Allen
- Date submitted
- 7 January 2019
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I first set eyes upon Stonehenge when I was in my twenties.... and that sudden view from the A303 absolutely stunned me. I could hardly believe I was actually seeing this marvellous site right in front of me. In those days, you could pull off the road and have a look through binoculars...but those days are long gone. To put a dual carriageway and short tunnel here would make the monument look like a toy-town replica. This is our finest archaeological monument - a World Heritage Site of the utmost importance to our Country and to our tourist industry. To dwarf it with a massive man-made, noisy, exhaust-filled 'structure' would show the world how little we care about our heritage and how poor we have become if this is the best we can do.. and when we can do this to our finest site. To even consider this option shows us up to the rest of the world in a poor light. During my lifetime, I have become totally immersed in archaeology for a great deal of my time - taking a degree in my late thirties and then a higher degree in my early forties whilst holding down my job. I am now in my seventies and still dig, visit sites, and avidly read about them as much as possible. I feel terribly protective about our archaeological heritage in these days of ongoing continuous nibbling of the landscape; I feel pained at the loss of massive swathes of countryside now being commandeered for housing, industrial estates, and high-speed railways, and am fearful of the future of many of our treasured sites and monuments. Stonehenge is one of our greatest iconic archaeological sites and a flagship for archaeology in the UK. People from all over the world instantly recognise it... and many thousands come to see it. Since I saw it all those years ago, archaeology has moved on in leaps and bounds, and at the present time the whole environment surrounding Stonehenge is now understood to be a vast religious and ceremonial landscape with an increasing number of archaeological features being discovered. In years to come - with rapidly increasing technology and archaeological techniques - who knows what else may be discovered in this wonderful place and its surroundings. I am a keen birdwatcher, butterfly enthusiast, and a supporter of preserving wild-flowers - so the landscape in which Stonehenge lies means so much more to me than just the archaeology. I feel desperate about threats to its future. It needs protecting at all costs. ALL COSTS. If this site is damaged or diminished it will be a national disgrace and something which can never be remedied. The world will look and pity us that we have sunk so low. Forget about the High-speed Rail links - that so few want - with it's increasingly proposed monstrous costs. Save the money being spent on it and instead use the cash to properly ensure our most precious monument and its landscape are preserved intact, and visually, for our nation and the world.