Representation by Clare E. Smith
- Date submitted
- 11 January 2019
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Wiltshire born and bred, living in the county all my life, I oppose this attempt to remove my region’s most globally recognized monument from casual view. Wiltshire is famous for many things including many iconic monuments from Avebury and Silbury Hill to the hillside chalk horses; none of which benefits from such instant worldwide recognition as Stonehenge’s trilithons. Adapted across the West Country as logos and insignia, and nationwide as an illustration of extreme age and permanence, the unparalleled renown of Stonehenge’s trilithons emanates from public recognition of visual interpretation summarizing what the site looks like. Our collective heritage associated with this site is steeped in a history of ordinary people witnessing and passing word of this wonder on to others long before printed images and words furthered this fame. The free view of Stonehenge from the main thoroughfare has become iconic in its own right, it would be quite wrong to forever remove that special encounter. It is also quite wrong that the only alternative to this spectacular traditional view of Stonehenge is to witness it by intention, paying an entrance fee/membership, or walking a distance that is a considerable undertaking and impossible with small children or for the disabled or elderly. The infrastructure accompanying the tunnel would be a blight on Wiltshire, the West Country and the World Heritage site, and the damage the various structures and works will mete out on the landscape and archaeological sites in and around the World Heritage Site is unacceptable. The impact on wildlife and habitats is unacceptable. The impact on the hydrology of the region and what this means for farmers, our rivers and streams, and Blick Mead is of enormous concern. The mere proposal of this scheme has damaged the reputation of Stonehenge. The financial cost of the scheme is also unacceptable. The scheme needs to be dropped.