Representation by Andrew Varley
- Date submitted
- 11 January 2019
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
This road as it is currently planned will cause irreparable damage to a site of both national and international importance. The Western portal is too close to the ancient burial mounds and the eastern is much too close to the established 'Blickmead' Archaeological site I also believe there are substantial issues with light pollution to the west and water tables to the east, and that if you really must intrude into this area that a significantly longer bored tunnel entering and exiting outside of the designated World Heritage Site is more preferable. Aside from the actual ill-conceived plans under consideration, you are of course aware that the archaeological and sociological impact of Stonehenge is immense, one of Britain's top tourist attractions and a unique landscape which may be altered or destroyed by these works. Stonehenge is not just the stones themselves but the entire surrounding landscape which must remain undisturbed as it has a wealth of prehistoric archaeological significance. As we are still figuring out the mysteries of this area, cutting a swathe through the middle of it would hinder or completely destroy our efforts to understand such a unique and precious site and would be a loss to worldwide understanding of neolithic culture.
Aside from this, the site is also of ritualistic, spiritual and religious importance to many thousands of people of pre-Judeo-Christian faiths across the world and disturbing the landscape would be a desecration of a revered and sacred site.