Stonehenge - Closure of A344 makes EH happy
Wiltshire Council is to close the A344 beside the stones from the Airman's Corner junction to the A303. This follows a public enquiry . The original scheme was to include the closure of a number of byways, but following objections the enquiry inspector decided this was not necessary.
For the full report see http://moderngov.wiltshire.council/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=517
Here's English Heritage's reaction:
"English Heritage is delighted that Wiltshire Council has made the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) for the section of the A344 between Airman's Corner, the site of the new Visitor Centre, and Byway 12.
Together with a Stopping Up Order on the section of the road that runs past Stonehenge almost touching the Heel Stone that was granted earlier by the Department of Transport, the A344 will effectively be closed to traffic.
The TRO, supported by English Heritage, National Trust, the RSPB and other organisations, is essential for the long term management of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site and for English Heritage to implement the Stonehenge Environmental Improvements Project."
Loraine Knowles, Stonehenge Director at English Heritage, said: "Wiltshire Council's decision means that the permissions and orders required to proceed with the Stonehenge project are now all in place and that construction can start in May 2012.
"It is 25 years since Stonehenge and Avebury became a World Heritage Site (WHS). This is a timely reminder of how precious this ancient landscape is and yet how compromised it is at present by traffic and modern clutter at its core.
"It is immensely exciting that English Heritage's long-held vision of a more tranquil, more dignified setting for Stonehenge can finally be realised. People will, for the first time, be able to enjoy Stonehenge with reduced interference of traffic and noise, with world-class visitor facilities, greater access to the wider landscape and other outstanding prehistoric monuments, and the museum-quality interpretation that it deserves. We look forward to starting work on site."
The £27m project, spearheaded by English Heritage with the support of a wide range of partners including the National Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund, will relocate visitor facilities to Airman's Corner, 1.5 miles west of the present facilities. Visitors will be transported to the stones a short ride away on a low-key transit system. The present visitor facilities and car park will be removed, and the A344 east of Stonehenge and the area around it will be returned to grass, opening up the landscape around Stonehenge and reuniting the monument with its ancient Avenue.
The new visitor facilities are scheduled to open in October 2013; the restoration of the landscape at the site of the existing facilities and near the stone circle will be completed by summer 2014.
The process will start in May with the works at the Airman's Cross junction including removal of the memorial for storage during construction. The A344 will be closed after the Highways Agency complete their planned improvements to Longbarrow roundabout in March 2013.
Over the winter of 2013/14 the existing visitor facilities will be removed and the area around the stones grassed.