A303 consultation events rearranged due to poor weather
Highways England has reorganised two weather-hit events where members of the public can find out more about plans to upgrade the A303 in the South West.
The scheme to improve the A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down includes plans for a 1.9-mile long tunnel past Stonehenge, a free-flowing dual carriageway and a much-needed bypass north of Winterbourne Stoke.
Consultation on the plans launched on 8 February but severe weather which swept across the region at the end of last week affected two public information events, at Mere and Salisbury.
They are due to rescheduled for later this month.
The news comes at the conclusion of a three-day fact-finding mission to Stonehenge of a delegation from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).
The aim of the mission was to explain how the designs of the proposed 1.9-mile long road tunnel will bring together the World Heritage Site landscape currently split by the A303.
Derek Parody, Project Director for Highways England, said:
We are grateful to the representatives from ICOMOS who have taken the time to be with us on a 3 day visit to understand the scheme we are proposing. It is been an excellent opportunity for us to explain how we have responded to their previous recommendations and how the scheme is developing.
We look forward to the panel’s report in due course, which will help us further refine the scheme, as well as to all the feedback from all interested parties during the current public consultation.
The consultation events continue today at the Society of Antiquaries at London’s Burlington House (12 noon-8pm).
Since the last ICOMOS visit early last year and the announcement of the tunnel route plan in September, Highways England has continued to work with heritage groups including the National Trust, Historic England, English Heritage, and experts in the field, including the Stonehenge Scientific Committee - a body of leading independent archaeologists - to ensure a new route is built sensitively to the World Heritage Site.
The route was carefully chosen to avoid monuments and barrow groups, and Highways England’s modified plans also included moving the position of one of the entrances to the tunnel to avoid conflicting with the Winter Solstice alignment.
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