ENGLISH Heritage is to resubmit plans for a £67.5m Stonehenge visitor centre, after Salisbury district council controversially threw out the application.

Despite the scheme being approved by the northern area committee on July 19, last Tuesday's planning and regulatory panel rejected the centre - which was earmarked for development east of the Countess Road roundabout.

English Heritage said it was "surprised and disappointed" by the refusal.

The council's decision related to concerns over the proposed land train taking visitors to and from the stones, and access to the site.

An English Heritage spokesman said: "We believe the grounds for refusal are ones that can easily be addressed and we will be discussing with Salisbury district council when to resubmit the scheme."

Salisbury MP Robert Key said it was important that meetings to resolve concerns about the scheme were held quickly, to ensure the funding remained in place: "There is a worry that, if there continues to be this time-slippage, the lottery funding for the project will be allocated to the Olympic Games, which would love to get its hands on these millions of pounds," he said.

"The Heritage Lottery Fund says it will stick by this project for the time being, but something must be resolved.

"If English Heritage does appeal against the council's decision, it could take up to a year and Salisbury district council - and therefore the council taxpayer - could be facing a bill of £500,000.

"It will save a lot of time and money if these issues can be resolved and the plans are resubmitted."

The National Trust echoed the view, adding that the fundamental solution to Stonehenge's problems was "resolving the current stranglehold of the A303 and A344".

Fiona Reynolds, director-general of the trust, said: "English Heritage's plans are only one part of the vision to reunite the stones with their landscape and improve the experience for visitors."

English Heritage's application also included the demolition of the current visitor facilities at Stonehenge and the grassing over of the A344.

The district council said English Heritage had failed to demonstrate that the height, width and length of the land train and track would not have an adverse impact on residents, the world heritage site and archaeology.

The council committee was also concerned about the impact on the flow of traffic on the A303.

Two weeks ago, the government announced it was rethinking the Highways Agency's A303 road-improvement scheme, which included a 2.1km tunnel taking traffic underneath the world heritage site as it passes the stones.

Ministers halted plans after it was revealed that the cost of the tunnel had risen sharply from £284m to £470m in just over a year, and fears were sparked that the visitor centre could be in jeopardy as a result.

Other road improvements outlined by the Highways Agency include dualling the A303, building a bypass for Winterbourne Stoke and developing a flyover at Countess Road, Amesbury.