MP disappointed by Stonehenge decision

Writing for the Salisbury Journal, Glen said that the judgement did not take enough consideration of the democratic support of all the local authorities along the route, the benefits to local people and the fact that upgrading the A303 had been a manifesto pledge.

The decision, he said, would not have been welcomed by many of his constituents living in villages that were “beset by rat-running”.

Various non-tunnelled solutions have been proposed to date, including a surface dual carriageway, a shallow cutting and rerouting the A303 to the south which, Glen said, had been studied in detail.

“It goes without saying that overland dualling would be cheaper and easier than tunnelling, but the numerous overland options have been examined, re-examined and set aside time and time again for a reason.

“A cutting for example, would inflict maximum damage on the archaeology and is completely unacceptable to English Heritage and the National Trust. They asked for a deep-bore tunnel because it would largely pass beneath the archaeology, leaving it undisturbed.” The most damaging solution, added Glen, was the one that was already there.

Also disappointed by the ruling is Highways England, which plans to continue with the US$2.37bn scheme by awarding construction contracts. The winners of these are expected to be announced early next year, with three bids having already been received. However, the preparatory work and archaeological studies which had been ongoing before the court ruling have now been postponed.