"A tunnel is the only answer" (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

"A tunnel is the only answer"

BUILDING a 2.1km tunnel near Stonehenge and widening the A303 is the only way of enhancing the experience of visiting the world heritage site and improving road safety, the Highways Agency argued on the first day of the public inquiry.

In his opening statement, the government's counsel, Charles Calvert, told planning inspector Michael Ellison that the promise of £70m from heritage sources towards the construction of the controversial road was "an opportunity that must not be lost".

Speaking in a packed Guildhall on Tuesday, Mr Culvert said: "The A303 Stonehenge Improvement is no ordinary road scheme.

"Stonehenge is the UK's best-known prehistoric monument and is undoubtedly famous internationally as an icon of this country.

The approach to Stonehenge along the A303 from the east. "Its current setting has been described as a national disgrace and the existence of busy highways close to the stones contributes to the poor setting."

Mr Calvert said that between 22,000 and 33,000 vehicles a day used what could become the only single carriageway on the main route between London and Cornwall, resulting in lengthy queues.

He added that the traffic had an enormous impact on life and safety in the village of Winterbourne Stoke, which has seen 13 casualties in five years.

The row over how to improve the A303 has raged since 1991.

Mr Calvert said that, in 1999, English Heritage, the National Trust - which is now rejecting the proposal and calling for a longer tunnel - and the Highways Agency reached an agreement on a two-kilometre cut-and-cover tunnel, which was hailed by director general of the National Trust Martin Drury as "an inspiring plan".

"The only substantial differences between the preferred route that achieved such fulsome praise and the public scheme before these inquiries is that a decision was taken that the tunnel should be bored, rather than cut-and-cover, and that it should be extended by 100m to gain further environmental benefit," he said.

"I do not believe that anybody has put evidence to these inquiries that would suggest that these changes are anything but beneficial."

Other objectors are worried by the tunnel's environmental impact but Mr Calvert argued that comprehensive assessments had been conducted.

"The thoroughness of the archaeological surveys undertaken for this scheme are probably far greater than have ever been undertaken for a trunk road scheme," he said.

Over the next week, Mr Calvert will call experts in engineering, water, air quality, noise and vibration and ecology to argue the benefits of the scheme.

Evidence-in-chief was supplied by project director Chris Jones.

"Stonehenge is part of our cultural heritage, spoilt by modern day clutter because of its close proximity to the A303," he said.

"English Heritage has plans for a new visitor centre - the National Trust wants to optimise land use.

"They are both dependent on achieving the road plan for their delivery."

Mr Jones added that the scheme would also benefit walkers and cyclists who wanted to use rights of way currently severed by the A303, would reduce the risk of accidents at hazard spots and would remove the bottleneck, making journey times more predictable.

"Any concerns are heavily outweighed by the totality of the positive benefits," he said.

The public inquiry is expected to run until April 30, as more than 100 witnesses give their evidence.

If the secretary of state for transport decides to adopt the scheme, work could begin as early as next spring and will take three-and-a-half years to complete.