The motorway tunnel which threatens Stonehenge contested before the British courts

Followers of Druidry, archaeologists and other opponents of the road tunnel project near the prehistoric site of Stonehenge, in the southwest of England, once again asked the British courts on Tuesday to block its construction.

For three days, the High Court in London examines the appeal of the Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS) group, which brings together opponents of this controversial project, to which the British government gave the green light last July. Following a successful first campaign, magistrates blocked in July 2021 a first tunnel project on the UNESCO World Heritage site, expressing their fears regarding its environmental impact. SSWHS wants to once again cancel the authorization given by the British government to this road project costing 1.7 billion pounds (nearly two billion euros), located a few hundred meters from the site.

Built in stages between approximately 3,000 and 2,300 BC, Stonehenge is one of the most important prehistoric megalithic monuments in the world due to its size, sophisticated plan and architectural precision.

The manager of the road network, National Highways, explains that this tunnel of approximately three kilometers will make it possible to streamline traffic, which is important on this axis. In his written submissions, the Department of Transport's lawyer assured that the project was “consistent with the United Kingdom's obligations” to the World Heritage Convention.

Conversely, a panel of specialists estimated that this project risked causing “permanent and irreversible harm” to the site, listed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1986.

In their own conclusions, the opponents' lawyers warned that Stonehenge could be removed from this list - an extremely rare measure, which targeted the port of Liverpool in 2021 - and join that of "heritage in danger". They also said the construction of the tunnel would mark “the first step towards decommissioning” and would be “a direct result” of the government’s decision. In written arguments presented at a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, David Wolfe KC, for the SSWHS, insisted that the value of the site “must be considered for this and future generations”.

On the first day of the examination of the appeal, around fifty opponents, including followers of Druidism who celebrate pagan festivals every year on the occasion of the solstices at Stonehenge, gathered in front of the High Court with banners and shamanic drums.

“We are going to destroy something sacred, historically and archaeologically fundamental, in order to save people a few minutes of travel,” denounced Angela Harding, a librarian who arrived from Bedfordshire (southeast of England) to the demonstration and interviewed by AFP. “This is one of the most important Neolithic sites on the planet, probably built by the first Druids,” added the “Archdruid of Stonehenge” Rollo Maughfling, wearing a white toga and a red cape.

Stonehenge Alliance chairman John Adams told the BBC they had “no choice” but to take legal action. “We had to use crowdfunding to pay our legal costs. It’s really like David and Goliath,” he added. He said the two-mile tunnel project would only speed up travel times by “a few minutes,” adding that it was a “misuse of public funds.” “We want National Highways to continue to explore alternatives that would move the road away from the World Heritage Site.”

“Stonehenge is a symbol for Britain and the whole world. Its mystery still pushes many people to explore the site and its surroundings,” commented writer Tom Holland, outside the court. But if this landscape is “devastated”, “we will lose the possibility of going back to the origins” of the country.