A PLAN to build a mighty new Stonehenge in north Wiltshire has been abandoned because of traffic problems and environmental impact.

North Wiltshire's loss could end up as Salisbury's gain, however. A site in the south of the county has been put forward as the new contender.

The new Stonehenge, billed the Circle In The West, could have proved a major tourist attraction and brought in thousands of visitors to the area.

District council chairman Carol O'Gorman said she was very sad the project wouldn't be coming to north Wiltshire.

"I saw this as a way to boost the north Wiltshire economy and tourism, to give us visibility and put us ahead of other local areas," she said.

"This would have stopped people as they passed through, and would have encouraged them to stop and visit."

The secret site under discussion in north Wiltshire was the Blakehill nature reserve, near Cricklade, owned by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

A meeting was held on site on the morning of the summer solstice this year to calculate alignments.

However, this week Colin Shearing, who is spearheading the project, said difficulties arose relating to the environmental impact on the site, and because the attraction would have added to the already congested traffic through Cricklade.

A spokesman for the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust said they had posed a number of questions regarding the Circle in the West and had concluded answers could not be found.