I hear that The National Trust have presented an excellent case at the inquiry for the A303 tunnel to be more than double the length than that proposed by the Highways Agency.*
I'm very disappointed by the submission put forward by the Druids' representatives. They seem to have accepted that the 2.1 km tunnel will be built and are only concerned about there own narrow interests. These are:
1. A Druid burial site near to Stonehenge (discussed on another thread here)
2. All excavated human remains to be re-buried with a Druid ceremony.
3. Druid rituals to be performed at all stages of the tunnel's construction.
In my opinion, the first two issues are completely seperate concerns which I object to and believe should not be discussed at the road inquiry; which leaves us with item 3 which is only of concern to some Druids. What a wasted opportunity!
*Here are some of the concerns of The National Trust:
5.4.3 The west and east tunnel portals are poorly sited, as they are located within a zone of activity which lies at the edge of the Stonehenge MILS. The west tunnel portal would be positioned within a barrow cemetery in the core of the World Heritage Site, and would have an adverse effect on the setting of the upstanding barrows and pose a significant risk to associated buried archaeological remains.
5.4.4 The significance and spread of archaeological remains on Kings Barrow Ridge have been underestimated and the effect of the east tunnel portal would be more severe than has been recognised.
5.4.5 The Avenue is an integral element of the monumental phase of the Stonehenge landscape and the main ceremonial route to the Stones, and yet it is severed by the current A303. The opportunity should be taken to reunite this monument with its wider landscape setting, in line with key objectives of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site Management Plan.
5.4.6 The setting of the Winterbourne Stoke barrows, particularly the long barrow adjacent to the crossroads, would deteriorate were the proposed development to proceed. In addition, the extent of Bronze Age settlement and associated landscape features here, which would be affected by the development, has probably been understated.
