A360 temporary closure postponed

Published

04 Aug 2021

Last week saw the disappointing High Court decision to quash the Development Consent Order for the A303 Stonehenge scheme. This doesn’t mean the tunnel’s cancelled despite what's been stated on social media and in the press.

The Secretary of State is currently considering the judgment and the options. At this stage there are no indications on what the next steps might be, but what is clear is the High Court ruling was not made about the merits of the scheme itself, but concerned points of law in the way in which the decision was made to grant permission.

We have to wait to see what happens, but in the meantime, the key impact will be that our preliminary construction works including archaeology and the temporary closure of the A360 planned for September will be paused. We will conduct ongoing surveys, and continue with the process to appoint a contractor for the main works phase.

The need for the scheme remains as strong as ever, and we’re aware supporters and all those who want to see this congested section of the A303 improved and the landscape opened up, are as disappointed as we are.

Our planned August 10 Q&A session will be rescheduled and we will keep everyone posted when we know more.