Plans to build traffic tunnel at Stonehenge to go ahead

Tourists looking at The Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in England. ©DAVE CAULKIN/AP2004

The non-profitable organisation "Save Stonehenge WHS" lost an appeal in the High Court to stop the construction of a road tunnel near the prehistoric structure.

The judge declared that the relevant policies had been considered by the British government and that the evidence presented by the activists "provides no basis" for contesting them.

Nevertheless, one part of the appeal, relating to the Ministry of Transport's position on environmental impact, will be the subject of a later ruling.

National Highways says the tunnel will remove the sight and sound of traffic passing the site and cut journey times.

"We firmly believe that putting much of the busy, noisy and intrusive A303 road into a tunnel past Stonehenge is right for the World Heritage Site," said Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England.

© Euronews