Representation by Professor Charles Foster
- Date submitted
- 11 January 2019
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
In its present form, the proposed project would do irreparable damage to one of the most iconic monuments in the world - a monument that sheds crucial light on a formative time in human history. The monument and its surroundings tell us a lot about how we came to be what we are. The ambience of the place - not just the standing stones - is an important part of it. The international community is overwhelmingly opposed to the project, and simply cannot understand how the UK could countenance such a change. The Government's support is incomprehensible to everyone to whom I have spoken. The planning legislation is supposed to protect our resources. It often does so effectively in contexts that are far, far less important than Stonehenge. The choice that appears to have been made (that the interests of motorists trump considerations of internationally important conservation) is anachronistic and irrational. There are alternatives: they are inadequately canvassed in the proposal.