C "Creating the conditions for improved biodiversity with flowers, butterflies, birds and insects flourishing"
1 Maximise the extent of the traffic free area to encourage undisturbed wildlife.
2 Manage natural chalk grassland and ban all chemical spraying. Be aware of drift from adjacent farms.
3 Ban military aircraft from over flying and control private aircraft that currently "buzz" Stonehenge for aerial views. Set height limit.
D "Providing improved access, enabling people to roam freely and at no cost throughout the World Heritage Site"
1 Pedestrian access to the Stonehenge landscape should be free of charge as stated in your aims. However, free access should only be from controlled distant points on the perimeter. Pedestrians would pay to park their cars outside the access points. Car parking should be at Countess East, but also to the north and west near Durrington and Shrewton.
2 Free and unlimited access to the Stones is seen as an impractical ideal. We remember the severe erosion around the Stones in the 1970's and no natural grass can resist such heavy foot traffic as is anticipated.
3 Run ample low impact shuttle buses over variable strengthened trackways from distant access points to the current pedestrian tunnel.
4 Taking operations at the Irish sites of Newgrange and Knowth as examples of good practise, visitors could arrive at Stonehenge from one direction and leave by another. This would give non-pedestrians good, fairly long distance views of the surrounding monuments from different directions. This would also prevent buses leaving the Stones from blocking the view of those arriving. Abandon the idea of a land train as this would be unsightly, permanent and intrusive.
5 Set the cost of the shuttle bus at £10 (to include car parking) with reductions for children and free for the disabled. This will enable disabled visitors to reach the Stones, while others may wish to hop on and off to walk part of the way.
6 Live or recorded guide commentaries would remove the need for an over elaborate Visitor Centre – see below.
E "Building a new world-class visitor centre outside the World Heritage Site at Countess East"
1 The estimated cost of £60 million is excessive but will inevitably be exceeded. That amount of money could better be spent elsewhere in the heritage remit.
2 Over exposure to amenity interpretation, visual aids, reconstructions etc can be counter productive and can diminish the visitors' experience when actually arriving at the monument itself. Too much hype may lead to disappointment. Stonehenge should remain true to itself and can speak for itself as an enigmatic mystery. Too much "explanation" will diminish the sense of awe and mystery that is its key attraction.
3 Provide a limited visitors centre at the shuttle bus departure point. This to provide restrained interpretation with toilet facilities and a point of sales outlet. With reference to facilities provided at equivalent monuments elsewhere, a highly effective interpretation display could be provided at a fraction of the mooted £60 million. The Bru na Boinne Centre provides a good example with reasonable food and interesting displays while visitors await their shuttle bus.
4 A limited visitors' centre and shuttle bus departure point could be located at Countess East or possibly to the north or west of the World Heritage Site near Durrington or Shrewton.
5 At Stonehenge itself, the metalled pedestrian path that cuts across the site must be removed and could be substituted by a removable pedestrian trackway. A toilet block and custodian office could usefully be located out of site in the present pedestrian tunnel.