Stonehenge Safe as Judge Rules Road and Tunnel Development Unlawful

Stonehenge campaigners are celebrating victory after a judge ruled that Government planning approval granted to a £1.7 billion road and tunnel development at the sacred site was unlawful.

The finding by High Court Judge Hon. Mr Justice Holgate followed a judicial review of transport secretary Grant Shapps’ consent to the scheme last November against the recommendation of planning officials. The legal challenge was brought by Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS), which is part of campaign group the Stonehenge Alliance.  

The judge found that the transport secretary had failed to properly assess the risk of harm to each heritage asset within the World Heritage Site (WHS). There was also not enough evidence to conclude that the project would cause “less than substantial harm” to Stonehenge’s heritage assets, which meant the original decision to approve the development was unlawful.

In a statement, John Adams, OBE, SSWHS’ director and acting chairman of the Stonehenge Alliance, said of the ruling: “We could not be more pleased about the outcome of the legal challenge. The Stonehenge Alliance has campaigned from the start for a longer tunnel if a tunnel should be considered necessary. Ideally, such a tunnel would begin and end outside the WHS.”

But he continued that, in light of the climate emergency, “it is all the more important that this ruling should be a wake-up call for the Government. It should look again at its roads programme and take action to reduce road traffic and eliminate any need to build new and wider roads that threaten the environment as well as our cultural heritage”.

SSWHS was represented in its legal challenge by law firm, Leigh Day, and barristers David Wolfe QC (Matrix chambers) and Victoria Hutton (39 Essex chambers).

Leigh Day solicitor Rowan Smith said: “This is a huge victory, which means, for now, Stonehenge is safe. The judgment is a clear vindication of our client’s tremendous efforts in campaigning to protect the World Heritage Site.”

He added that because the development consent for the “damaging” tunnel had been declared unlawful and was now quashed, the Government would “have to go back to the drawing board before a new decision can be made. Meanwhile, one of the country’s most cherished heritage assets cannot be harmed”.

Jonathan Weekes, co-founder of Sacred Earth Activism, which supports direct action with sacred ceremony and ritual, was also delighted with the news.

“We wish to extend our thanks to the Stonehenge Alliance for their tireless dedication in pursuing this legal action,” he said. “Stonehenge and the surrounding landscape has been a sacred site for thousands of years and we’re grateful that it’s not going to be carved up to meet short-sighted traffic concerns.”

 Sacred Earth Activism has been supporting the work of the Stonehenge Alliance and Stonehenge Heritage Action Camp from the outset through ceremony and sacred action. Activities ranged from a sacred ceremony in December 2020 to call on the ancestors and spirits for support at the start of the campaign to a Sacred Fire vigil at both Stonehenge and outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London that was held throughout the duration of the hearing.

Weekes added: “We hope this announcement will mark the end of attempts to desecrate this sacred landscape and that it will be recognised and respected for the living temple that it is.”