The campaign group, Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS), has proved a thorn in the side National Highways, battling against the 拢2.5bn A303 Stonehenge (Amesbury to Berwick Down) project. It succeeded in getting the original development consent order (DCO) quashed by the courts in 2021 but National Highways managed to get another one last year.
A legal challenge against the second DCO was thrown out by Mr Justice Holgate in February. 聽But an appeal against this judgment is now set to be heard by the Court of Appeal.
National Highways said that it would now have to adjust the whole main works programme. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know what that will look like yet, because we don鈥檛 know the extent of the delay,鈥� it said. 鈥淭he legal process timescale is not within our control, and we will need to work closely with DfT [Department for Transport] and our legal teams to understand what our next steps are.鈥�
John Adams, chair of the Stonehenge Alliance and one of the three directors of SSWHS, said: 鈥淭his is extremely good news. All those who care passionately about our cultural heritage can breathe a sigh of relief. We now have a new opportunity for the government decision to be thoroughly scrutinised.
鈥淭his road scheme would be incredibly damaging to Stonehenge World Heritage Site. Yet, the government doesn鈥檛 seem to care and is desperately trying to bulldoze through this decision before it is thrown out of office.鈥�
Leigh Day solicitor Rowan Smith, acting for SSWHS, said: 鈥淭his news is very encouraging for our client. In granting permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal acknowledged the scale of public interest around ensuring that a decision about the future of Stonehenge is lawful.
鈥淭he court said there is a compelling reason for an appeal hearing. Our client is looking forward to presenting arguments about the fairness of the decision-making process relating to the future of Stonehenge as well as compliance with international law protecting the World Heritage Site.鈥�
National Highways project director David Bullock said: 鈥淲e are hugely disappointed by this decision, which will cause more delays to this scheme as the next stage of the legal process unfolds.
鈥淗owever we will participate fully in any future legal proceedings to continue to present the case for the scheme, working closely with the DfT.鈥�
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
