The new Labour government in the UK has ended the Stonehenge tunnel project to improve the fiscal deficit.
The project aimed to re-route the A303 road, running alongside the heritage site, into a tunnel. The road alongside the ancient stone, meanwhile, would have been turned into a walkway for tourists. The objective of the project was to transform the site to a more pristine form, while also giving visitors better access to it. Announced in 2020 by the then-Conservative government, it immediately came under fire by the Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site campaign, which took the government to court. After an initial stay on the project, the project was finally approved in July of last year.
However, now the newly-elected Labour government, led by Keir Starmer, has decided that it would rather not spend the $2.5 billion on the project. Rachel Reeves, chancellor of the exchequer, announced the same to the parliament on Monday. The move was primarily aimed at closing the $30 billion fiscal deficit currently faced by the government coffers. A policy paper, also published on Monday, said that the Stonehenge project and another in West Sussex are “low value, unaffordable commitments” that would have cost $753 million over the next year itself.
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The Stonehenge tunnel project has been a divisive topic since it was announced. Many have slammed the project as a travesty and a waste. Tom Holland (President, Stonehenge Alliance) said: “This entire monstrous project, a proposal to drive a gash of concrete and tarmac through our most prehistoric landscape, should never have got off the drawing board.” However, the project has supporters as well. English Heritage said: “[the project] would reunite the ancient landscape and allow more people to explore and enjoy this remarkable site.”
