Progress report

The A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down scheme is in the middle of the planning application process. As a nationally significant infrastructure project we have applied for a Development Consent Order, which was accepted for examination in November 2018.

You can view our application on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. You can also view our latest booklet which will give you an overview - setting out the scheme’s key elements, developments since our 2018 public consultations, and what benefits this scheme will bring.

What’s next?

The Preliminary Meeting took place on Tuesday 2 April 2019, which marked the start of a six-month formal examination period. The meeting took place at Salisbury Racecourse.

To find out more about previous and upcoming meetings, please see the letter on the PINs website.

Timeline

Community news

We've established a Local Community Forum and appointed an independent chair as leader. The next forum will be held in May 2019.

Why we need this scheme

As part of the most direct route between the South East and the South West, the A303 past Stonehenge plays a big part in the daily lives of tens of thousands of people, and for many it can be a daily struggle.

Average traffic flows along the single carriageway section between Amesbury and Berwick Down are twice what it was designed for, and the road is even busier in the summer tourist period.

The road bisects the Stonehenge part of the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites World Heritage Site, running just 165 metres away from the most famous stone circle in the world. The road also cuts the village of Winterbourne Stoke in two.

An improved dual-carriageway, via a tunnel past Stonehenge, will help unlock economic growth in the South West by transforming journey reliability, increasing safety and improving connectivity with neighbouring regions, while protecting or enhancing the environment.

To make sure we achieve this, the project has four key objectives:

• Transport: to create a high quality reliable route between the South East and the South West that meets the future needs of traffic.
• Economic growth: to enable growth in jobs and housing by providing a free-flowing and reliable connection between the South East and the South West.
• Cultural heritage: to help conserve and sustain the World Heritage Site and to make it easier to reach and explore.
• Environment and community: to improve biodiversity and provide a positive legacy for nearby communities.

Roadworks and Events for England

The latest incident information for England's motorway and trunk routes provided by Highways England