Representation by Brian Edwards
- Date submitted
- 10 January 2019
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Brian Edwards, Visiting Research Fellow, The Regional History Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol.
Deputy representative of the Avebury and Stonehenge Archaeological and Historical Research Group (ASAHRG) to the steering group of the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated sites World Heritage Site (WHS).
My field of research is public history and historiography, particularly the impression of the past in relation to the WHS. The A303 road scheme features prominently in my publications and work in progress since 2014.
The removal of the above-ground section of the A303 in the vicinity of the Stones would, in my opinion, have an irreversible negative impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the WHS.
At the time of inscription of the property on the World Heritage List in 1986, the A344 was projected for closure not the A303. Commitments of conservation and preservation made at the time included the above ground section of the A303 and its inherent traditions.
Attribute 7 of OUV is the ‘influence of the remains of Neolithic and Bronze Age funerary and ceremonial monuments and their landscape settings on architects, artists, historians, archaeologists and others.’
Travellers influenced by Stonehenge, the known list of which extends back to at least the 12th century, promoted the site as an inherent part of the national story.
The removal of the above-ground section of the A303 would end the nation’s longest continual practice of mass encounter and engagement, by chance or intention, with an instantly recognisable large scale prehistoric built wonder from an adjacent main thoroughfare.
When Stonehenge was given to the nation in 1918, there was expectation this tradition would be maintained.
Since inscription of the WHS in 1986 an extensive tradition of engagement with Attribute 7 of OUV from and including the A303 is evident in writings, music, and photographs, countless examples of which are freely shared online.
If this trend is not interrupted by removal of the road into a tunnel and cuttings, it can reasonably be expected to continue and evolve.
Despite the A303’s potential, nothing has been done to recognise, research, understand and encourage instinctive engagement with roadside monuments within the WHS beyond eventually completing the installation of WHS entrance signs in 2016.
The effect of the A303, particularly regarding sight and sound, has been disproportionately cast as a negative issue in comparison to the immediate impact of tourist crowds, the turnstile and fencing experiences, visitor transportation, and closure of the A344.
Encouraged, the many identified and newly recognised archaeologically important sites could be more appreciatively celebrated individually and collectively by the captive audience journeying across the WHS.
The travel experience could be enhanced through accessible smart equipment. Advancing technologies typified by handheld devices, and such as electric and driverless cars, pose advantageous refinements for travellers and visitors.
Tunnel portals and infrastructure would unacceptably damage the property and the public’s cultural experience within the WHS.
The tunnel was a fait accompli unfit for heritage purposes.
Poor value for money and irreversible, the tunnel scheme must be rejected.