Case for Stonehenge tunnel doesn’t stand up
sir – Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, has approved the construction of the Stonehenge tunnel (Letters, November
14), disregarding the Planning Inspectorate’s warning that it would cause “permanent, irreversible harm” to the World Heritage Site.
His grounds for doing so are specious. He states that the tunnel would provide better east-west access, but this could be achieved by a simple dualling of the carriageway – at a fraction of the estimated £2 billion cost of the tunnel. He also claims the support of the National Trust and Historic England (the second of which would gain financially by securing access only via its visitor centre).
His last argument is that visitors would enjoy the site without traffic noise, but this ignores the fact that, by the time the tunnel is completed, we will be heading towards total electrification.
Patrick de Pelet
Templecombe, Somerset
sir – I noted that, on Saturday’s Letters page, a reader from Norfolk disapproved of the Stonehenge tunnel, while another, from Dorset, approved of it.
Funny, that. The tunnel (and crucial overpass of Countess Roundabout and bypass of Winterborne Stoke) must proceed. Julian Snell
Bishopstrow, Wiltshire
sir – The ludicrous decision to put the A303 underground in order to
“preserve” Stonehenge is typical of the bureaucratic approach to landscape and the place of humanity within it.
For thousands of years people have trudged, ridden or driven past Stonehenge; the highways to the west, to Exeter and Devizes, until recently divided just to the east of the stones, and millions must have gazed and wondered at the extraordinary sight they presented. Even now, in his hurry to get to his destination, a motorist will notice them and they will give him pause for thought.
Stonehenge is not just a national monument: it is a mystery that must not be swaddled in cotton wool as if it had nothing to do with the passing stranger, for it is part of his history and the story of his ancestors.
John Hoar
South Molton, Devon
sir – The only road improvement required at Stonehenge is a 10 ft-high solid fence on the northern side of the A303 to stop drivers slowing down to gawp.
In any event, the highlight of my trips along this section of the A303 used to be the pigs on the other side of the road, now sadly moved too far away to be seen properly. But at least we know exactly what purpose they serve – unlike the edifice opposite – and they should certainly have their own visitor centre (in the form of a farm shop).
Robert Warner
Ramsbury, Wiltshire