Representation by Richard Bartosz
- Date submitted
- 11 January 2019
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I wish to submit a Representation in respect of Paragraph 201, and related Paragraphs 195 and 196, of Section 16 of the National Planning Policy Framework. The main points will relate i) to the extent to which the setting of the heritage asset of Stonehenge may be identified and fixed geographically, and ii) the identification of new astronomical elements at play within. This follows study, currently in its twelfth year, as an independent researcher in archaeoastronomy and related interdisciplinary topics, much of which is material to the interpretation and understanding of Stonehenge and its wider landscape.
During the non-statutory consultation on route options, held between 12 January to 5 March 2017, I presented a preliminary diagram, inter alia, of the extent of this "fixed" setting. This revealed a conflict between the extent of the setting and the proposed Tunnel Option, at that time. The subsequent change to the alignment of the tunnel does not materially mitigate the impact on the setting as identified. Both east and west Portals remain within the primary area of the setting, for which purposes the title of "Sacred Space" was used for convenience.
I also indicated that investigation into other aspects of the astronomy of the setting were in progress and would be published in due course. Whereas this has not materialised to date, progress has been sufficient to enable critical elements of the study to be presented as part of my Representation.
In the light of there being no evidence of any of my comments being taken into account to date, and the current proposal being, in my opinion, in conflict with policy items as in paragraph 1) above, I wish to present comments under the overarching title of, "A Revised Architecture for Research and Interpretation of Stonehenge and its Setting". I will resolve this title into three sections as follows:
a) A resubmission of the diagram presented, but updated and expanded to include material explanation of how the extent of the "Sacred Space" was identified.
b) A section dealing with "missing astronomy". To date the astronomy, as largely accepted, was material to the argument to reposition the location of the west Portal. My submission will identify new astronomical elements which may be adversely and significantly impacted by the proposed development around the east Portal.
c) A section identifying and explaining key mathematical aspects leading to both of the topics as in a) and b) above. Owing to the nature of mathematical data this will be kept to as simple and logical format as possible.
- Dialogue with scholars on the various aspects indicated has returned the comment, "I particularly like the idea that Stonehenge may have served as a repository of knowledge about astronomy, metrology etc." If length allows, I will further illustrate the validity of my Representation by comparison with a very recent peer reviewed publication on the topic of metrology related to Stonehenge.
Professional note: I am a retired landscape and countryside professional of thirty-seven years experience, with over twenty years in the context of landscape assessment, covering the evolution of methodology from landscape evaluation through to landscape character assessment (LCA). This included direct experience of landscape and visual impact assessment (LVIA) on major projects, and local authority policy input, including representation at Examination In Public.