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Tuesday 1 December 2015

Can you believe, it's been a year since that announcement......

How time flies.......and so will this wee burd....

https://youtu.be/Vexogpfnm9Q

Thanks to our contact at the National Trust who has sent us this You Tube video launched today, to celebrate a year since the announcement was made by the Government to improve the A303 around Stonehenge which will ultimately reduce rat running through our village of Shrewton and improve the lives of it's residents and that of those living on the beleaguered road in Winterbourne Stoke......it does appear however, that Heritage England (Previously English Heritage) have also got in on the act and taken credit for all our hard work!!

Thursday 5 November 2015

Meeting with ICOMOS & UNESCO


For those who - perhaps rightly so, think there appears to be "nothing going on"...let me tell you all, there is very much stuff going on in the back ground!   Members of the STAG team were pleased to be invited by Historic England (prev. English Heritage) to meet with ICOMOS: (International Council on Monuments and Sites) and UNESCO: (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation)....(all very highbrow!!!) So! today at 9am at the National Trust offices in Tisbury we were accorded a 20 minute slot to put our case with regard to "fixing the A303" therefore reducing rat running through Shrewton and other local villages. Cllr. Ian West, Dave Hassett and myself put various points to the representatives present and submitted paper copies and later, on-line copies of our presentations.  English Heritage had issued our good friends with suitable maps of the area....The World Heritage Site - only!!!   Since our little village is just on the edge of the WHS, they did not have a map showing the villages just outside and so, we all had to improvise, pointing at places in thin air!!!   We are told this is the first of many such meetings that will take place over the following months and probably years! Suffice to note that Stonehenge Alliance had the 20 minute slot after us - they who do not want anything done about the A303 for fear of spoiling the WHS or would cope with a 3 mile tunnel.....they don't say from where the extra money would come needless to say!!!   
We have an update from our contact at The National Trust on 12th November, so will come back with more news after that meeting.......
Meanwhile, we on the STAG team will carry on quietly in the back ground with our campaign to "fix that A303".....but you can bet your bottom dollar, when there's a photo opportunity, them in their Ivory Tower in Trowbridge will come out of the woodwork!!

Wednesday 21 October 2015

Today's Western Daily Press - Stonehenge: "Why we shouldn't be going underground"


The proposed tunnel under Stonehenge would upset drivers and face major construction problems, writes Deryck Laming, of Herrington Geoscience.  This is what Mr Laming says: "Your news article "Stonehenge tunnel could cost £1.32bn" and editorial "Stonehenge tunnel is a bargain" (Western Daily Press September 30) discussed various options for removing A303 traffic from the vicinity of the monument, on a basis of a tunnel being part of the scheme.
Nowhere was it mentioned that a diverted highway on the surface was also an option, and a far less damaging one at that.

Two days later your opinions had a different tone – the editorial "Road improvement delay is unacceptable" expressed disapproval of five years being too long for the scheme to get started, rightly linking it with increasing road traffic casualties. It expressed the view that the removal of traffic from the vicinity was worth whatever expenditure is required, but again did not mention the surface option to shorten the delay."

Read more: http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Stonehenge-shouldn-t-going-underground/story-28020775-detail/story.html#ixzz3pCrGMaH3 
Mr Laming writes a very good article and goes on to explain the geology around the area of Stonehenge which, of course will be a very large part of the preparations for such a tunnel.   So! I draw his attention to an earlier Post of mine dated back as far as 27/04/2014 titled:
Madeira an Island of Tunnels, which as at today, has had 206 readings and to save you looking it up....this is what I said:
"The geology of this is interesting in that Madeira, is volcanic rock which is soft, light and porous called pumice and lends itself well to drilling.   The geology around Stonehenge however, is soft white porous, sedimentary rock a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and does not lend itself to the wet....but apparently they've got that sussed now - a sponge the size of Hampshire might help!!?   The chemical form of calcite....Ca C03.... could that be an alliteration!?   If tunnelling gets the go-ahead, following feasibility studies, we are reliably informed by John Glen MP johnglenmp.com during the 90 minute debate in Westminster Hall on 4th March last year, that "the difference now, compared with previous attempts to deal with the problem, is that Britain's engineering expertise has developed and we now have an international reputation for excellence in large-scale infrastructure projects involving tunnelling"  This expertise has been accumulated from the building of the Hindhead Tunnel and the Thames Valley Tideway tunnel......Thank heavens they did all the rehearsals out of our area!!!"






Thursday 10 September 2015

Stonehenge - Why we want a tunnel

Our contact at the www.nationaltrust.org.uk  

has been in touch with regard to this article in the October issue of www.wiltshirelife.co.uk where they explain to all those....wait for it!.....cynics, pessimists, defeatists, killjoys, misanthropes and sour pusses, the reasons for the tunnel against having a dual carriageway.....and NO, as explained in previous blogs.....IT WILL NOT BE GOING DIRECTLY UNDER THE MONUMENT!!!!   As mentioned in previous blogs.....there is much work to be done and this government are anxious to "Get on with it"!


Thursday 13 August 2015

Roads Minister acknowledges Rat Running......

Minister Acknowledges Rat Running in Shrewton....STAG up date:
I was pleased to have received an invite to a secret meeting where the Secretary of State for Transport Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate, was in the Chair.
The meeting was held in Antrobus House - Monday 3rd August, where it was clear when I walked into the room, some Amesbury Councillors were surprised and a little bit upset, to see STAG in attendance.   We thank the Minister for taking the time to give us an update on the A303 since no other Transport Sec has done so.
The meeting made public, information we already had site of from last April, but were sworn to secrecy by The National Trust who are engaging with us on a regular basis. The Minister wanted us to know that the need to
"get on with things"
vis the A303, are paramount during this Government although he admitted our section will be delicate and sensitive and a challenge but he could say they hoped that work would start by April 2020. 
There is much to be done in the waiting period with Highways England, National Trust, Heritage England and other Stakeholders involved in the design. He confirmed that there would be a 2.9k tunnel probably entering south of Kingbarrow and ending in the pig field tho' nothing is set in stone! The completion we hope, will reduce rat running through our village and the Minister did acknowledge this problem. He had visited the section from Countess to Longbarrow prior to the meeting and I followed his vehicle out of Antrobus House, which turned left at Countess straight into a queue of traffic!! They were making their way further down the A303 corridor for more meetings.
For a more detailed synopsis of the meeting, please see Dr Andrew Shuttleworth's blog at: winterbournestoke.blogspot.co.uk
Our thanks to Jan McKernan for passing this photo to us from yesterday.....rat running at it's worst!!!

See More

Monday 3 August 2015

English Heritage...You "Kept Mum" about this one!

I'm wondering why English Heritage have left it till now to come up with this piece of news in today's papers..... Deadly asbestos blocks the size of a brick 'were accidentally dumped at Stonehenge visitor centre' Source claims 'significant lumps' of a substance dumped at the attraction Was reportedly used to grass over a former road (A344) near the historic site English Heritage say they are investigating the asbestos claims Say topsoil laid by a contractor failed to meet their 'standard' By Sam Matthew for MailOnline http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3182811/Deadly-asbestos-blocks-size-brick-accidentally-dumped-Stonehenge-visitor-centre.html Published: 12:40, 2 August 2015 | Updated: 15:22, 2 August 2015 Brick-sized lumps of asbestos were accidentally brought to Stonehenge as part of work on its new £27 million visitors centre, it has been reported. English Heritage say they have launched an investigation into the claim that topsoil used on the site was tainted with the potentially harmful substance. The earth was being used to return a section of road next to the tourist attraction to chalk grassland and was provided by a sub contractor. 'There was a massive disagreement between English Heritage and the engineering firms involved because it caused a lot of hold-ups.' English Heritage said that they became concerned about the 'standard' of topsoil being used during an inspection of the now closed A344. As a result the earth was removed overnight to avoid any inconvenience to the 1.3 million people who visit the Wiltshire attraction each year. This was said to have happened in August last year. The new visitors centre opened in 2013. The organisation is now in contact with its contractor to clarify if asbestos was accidentally dumped at the site. The English Heritage website describes Stonehenge as 'one of the wonders of the world and the best-known prehistoric monument in Europe.' The original site was built between 3,000BC - 2,000BC and is believed to have been used as a burial ground, a place of druid worship, and a spot for astronomy A spokesman for English Heritage said: 'As part of the project to improve the landscape around Stonehenge, a section of the now closed A344 has been returned to chalk grassland. 'During the works, inspections revealed that the topsoil laid by the contractors on this section did not meet the standards required by English Heritage. 'Given the importance of the project and the fact that the area concerned sits within a World Heritage Site, we insisted that the contractor replace the topsoil. 'To avoid any inconvenience to the public and our visitors, this work took place over a couple of nights, outside of normal visiting hours. 'As guardians of this unique historic site, English Heritage took this issue very seriously, and were very disappointed that the contractors failed to provide the specified topsoil. However, they accepted responsibility and were quick to resolve the issue.' DANGER OF ASBESTOS IN HUMANS Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring minerals. Prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibres can trigger serious and fatal illnesses including malignant lung cancer, Asbestosis and mesothelioma. The most common diseases from asbestos are asbestosis and pleural abnormalities. These diseases can emerge decades after exposure has ended. People who become ill from asbestos have generally been regularly exposed in a job where they worked directly with the material, such as miners and roof mechanics. Asbestos-related diseases have also been commonly diagnosed in these workers' family members, and in residents who live close to asbestos mines or plants. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3182811/Deadly-asbestos-blocks-size-brick-accidentally-dumped-Stonehenge-visitor-centre.html#ixzz3hjuLzJBp Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Wednesday 24 June 2015

Ah fink they got it wrong again...Dad.....

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/resurfacing-repairs-on-a303-near-amesbury

Resurfacing repairs on A303 near Amesbury



Highways England is taking swift action to carry out important remedial works on the A303 near Amesbury.

Following investigations, resurfacing work carried out on the A303 between Countess Roundabout and Cholderton last winter, will need replacing because the stone used in the original scheme was contaminated with low quality materials. .
Highways England project manager, Paul Vosper said:
We sincerely apologise to our customers for the disruption these additional works will cause, but it’s vitally important the surfacing on this busy main route is replaced quickly to ensure safe and reliable journeys for many years to come.
Leaving the surface in place for any longer than necessary could possibly lead to further unplanned problems in the future and further disruption. That is why we have acted quickly to rectify the situation and well ahead of the school summer holidays when traffic flows increase significantly.
We have consulted with Wiltshire Council to ensure the work is completed with the minimum of disruption.
Our suppliers recognise the issues and are working at their own expense to ensure the road is repaired and will provide trouble free use for many years to come.
The scheme, between Countess Roundabout and Cholderton, will affect the east and westbound carriageway of the A303 for a total of five miles and will be carried out overnight between 8.00pm and 6.00am.
Work starts on Tuesday, 30 June and continues until Thursday, 18 July. During the first week, work will last from Tuesday to Friday, with the remaining two weeks taking place Monday to Thursday.
To ensure the safety of both the travelling public and our workforce, it will be necessary to fully close sections of the A303 to through traffic, fully signed diversion routes will be in place.
Westbound traffic will be diverted via the A338, Portway and the A345. The eastbound route will take traffic via the A345 Salisbury Road, the A3028, Marlborough Road, Tidworth Road, Bulford Road and the A338 Salisbury Road.
In addition, diversion routes for local traffic travelling west will be via Solstice Park Avenue, London Road and the A345. Eastbound local traffic will be diverted via the A345, London Road and Porton Road. Through traffic will be diverted via Salisbury Road, the A3028 and the A345 Countess Road.
Additional diversion routes for all through traffic will be in place between Andover and Wylye via the A343, A30 and A36 and also via the A338.

General enquiries Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Thursday 11 June 2015

Summer Solstice 2015 stuff you need to know......

This is what they say are the "Conditions of Entry for Summer Solstice:
www.english-heritage.org.uk
                       
 
English Heritage is pleased to be providing Managed Open Access to Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice on 20-21 June 2015. 
Please help us to create a peaceful occasion by taking personal responsibility and following the Conditions of Entry and guidelines set out on these pages.
We have a duty of care to ensure public safety and are responsible for protecting Stonehenge and its surrounding Monuments. If we are to ensure that future access is sustainable, it is essential that everyone observes and abides by these Conditions of Entry.
 

These Conditions of Entry are written to ensure enjoyment and public safety for everyone.  Contravention of any of these conditions may result in entry being refused or your removal from Stonehenge.  English Heritage reserves the right to refuse entry. 
Stonehenge is seen by many as a sacred site – please respect it and please respect each other.
Stonehenge is a world renowned historic Monument and it is seen by many who attend the access as a sacred site.  Amplified Music is inappropriate and will not be permitted.
  • Drunken, disorderly, and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated; ejection, by Security staff and/or Police, without return, will be the outcome.
  • Illegal drugs are still illegal at Stonehenge as they are anywhere else.  The police will be on site during the access period and will take immediate action against anyone breaking the law.  Summer Solstice is not a good time to experiment with drugs - the crowd, the noise and the sheer size of the place are likely to make any bad reaction much, much worse.  As much of the access is at night, if you had a bad reaction it may be difficult to locate you to administer treatment.
  • Glass is not allowed at the Monument as many people walk barefoot and, in addition, livestock and wildlife also graze in the area.  If you bring any glass items with you, they will be confiscated.  
  • Only small amounts of alcohol for personal use will be permitted on to site.  Alcohol is limited to no more than the equivalent of four 500ml cans of beer/cider or 75cl of wine.  No further alcohol will be permitted on subsequent re-entry. Be warned, drug/alcohol cocktails can be lethal, so please be fully of aware of what you are doing.
  • Do not climb or stand on any of the stones – this includes the stones that have fallen.  This is in the interest of personal safety, the protection of this special site and respect for those attending.  As well as putting the stones themselves at risk, climbing on them can damage the delicate lichens.
  • In order to ensure personal safety, random searching may be undertaken, but we hope that self-policing and personal responsibility will prevail.  Any items that might be used in an illegal or offensive manner will be confiscated.
  • Camping, fires, Chinese lanterns, fireworks, candles, tea-lights or BBQs are NOT permitted at Stonehenge, in the Solstice Car Park, or anywhere in the surrounding National Trust land.
  • In the interests of safety, sleeping bags or duvets will not be allowed on site.  Sleeping on the ground can create a trip hazard especially as much of the access is during the hours of darkness.  Also, people asleep on the ground could interfere with the work of the emergency services and hinder their ability to attend an incident.  Small ground sheets and blankets will be permitted for people to sit on.  Please do not bring chairs etc (unless used as a recognised disability aid). Shooting-sticks are not permitted. If you do want to sleep during the access period, it is strongly recommended that you either return to your vehicle in the Solstice Car Park or go to one of the public gathering areas outside the Monument.
  • Drones or any type of remote-controlled flying devices are not permitted at Stonehenge or in any of the Solstice Car Parks.

Admission to Stonehenge
  • Admission to Summer Solstice at Stonehenge is free of charge
  • Children under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult
  • Please remember that you will not be allowed access to the Monument with the following items:
 - Large quantities of alcohol  
-  Drugs
 - Large bags or rucksacks (or similar items)
 - Sleeping bags or duvets
 - Flaming torches, Chinese lanterns, Fireworks or candles etc.
 - Dogs (with the exception of registered assistance dogs), pets or other creatures
 - Camping equipment, including foldaway chairs, garden furniture, shooting-sticks.
 - BBQs or gas cylinders
 - Glass/bottles or other glass objects
 - Trolleys, wheel barrows or any other form of porterage
 - Pushchairs or buggies that are not exclusively used for a child
 - Large “golf-style” umbrellas, gazebos
 - Drones or any kind of remote control aircraft
For full details see our page on what to bring (and what not to bring) to Summer Solstice at Stonehenge.
And from this blog:
Here is some useful "other information" bus time tables etc:

By-way 12 - the track that runs along side the monument, will close to all traffic and persons:
from 0800 on the 18th till 0800 on the 22nd June.   one could of course still use National Trust land to walk there!!!
Alcohol allowed is reckoned to be about 4 cans or a bottle of wine per person.
Alcohol will not be allowed in glass bottle form and should be transferred into a plastic bottle before going onto site.  Should you forget this rule, the bottle will be confiscated and kept in the left luggage area by www.Wiltshire.Police.uk and can be claimed "after the party"!  Contact number: 101
It's well documented that the roads around Stonehenge are busy at normal times of the year and this weekend will be nose to tail..... especially the A303.....rather than sit in a queue for 2 hours......why not take the bus:
Adults: £10.00 return
Child:   £   5.00 return
 I've provided a time table for Salisbury Reds where buses will leave from Salisbury and Amesbury at regular intervals..... or you can down load it at: www.salisburyreds.co.uk/summersolstice 

Saturday 20th June
Salisbury New Canal (U) 1830 Then at frequent intervals until 2300 Then every 15 mins until 0100
Salisbury Rail Station 1840 2310 0115
Amesbury (The Centre/A345) 1855 2325 0130
Stonehenge (Vis.Centre) 1910 2345 0145


Sunday 21th June
Stonehenge (Vis. Centre) 0400 Then at frequent intervals until 0800 0830 0845 0900 0930 0945 1000
A360 Cross Roads 0415 0815 0845 0900 0915 0945 1000 1015
Salisbury (New Canal) 0427 0827 0857 0912 0927 0957 1012 1027
Salisbury Rail Station 0435 0835 0905 0920 0935 1005 1020 R
I hope this blog is helpful, finding the detail all in one place can be easier.....have a great time and it looks like we may have another brilliant sun rise at: 04.52
Enjoy!!

 

Wednesday 3 June 2015

A303 Road Rage holds up traffic for almost an hour......

Well really! is this what it's coming to and we have at least another 5 years before work even commences -  to improve the A303!!!

Our thanks to Tristan Cork for this story in Tuesday's Western Daily Press:

Huge road rage 'affray' incident brings A303 to standstill in Wiltshire

By TristanCork  |  Posted: June 01, 2015


Read more: http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Mass-affray-road-rage-incident-brings-A303/story-26612970-detail/story.html#ixzz3bzg2WBNq
Follow us: @WesternDaily on Twitter | WesternDaily on Facebook
Police are appealing for witnesses after a mass road rage scuffle erupted among motorists driving on one of the busiest stretches of main road in the West on Saturday afternoon. 
 
Detectives said two men were arrested but many more were involved in the incident, which happened on the A303 heading east in Wiltshire.
Police said it appeared there was an altercation between the occupants of a large white motor home and three other cars, all with 'multiple occupants'. It is understood it happened on the eastbound side of the A303, the main holiday route into and out of the West, just at the point where the dual carriageway ends and a single-lane road begins between Yarnbury and Winterbourne Stoke as the road crosses Salisbury Plain.
Traffic was brought to a standstill between 4pm and 4.45pm on Saturday as the four vehicles involved pulled up in the road, got out and began arguing.
Read more: http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Mass-affray-road-rage-incident-brings-A303/story-26612970-detail/story.html#ixzz3bzfnvAWp
Follow us: @WesternDaily on Twitter | WesternDaily on Facebook


We here at STAG are very fortunate that representatives from the National Trust are engaging with us to keep us up to speed with the process to improve the A303 be it a tunnel and or dual carriageway and whatever we get, there must be a compromise by all Stakeholders!
There's a lot of work to be covered before anything can commence around the Stonehenge section of the A303 - in fact, it may well be the case, that nothing can start till 2021!!
We've said before on this blog that the dangerous section of the A303 around Stonehenge could result in a death - and unfortunately, so it did last year - see previous posting: "It is with regret".  
In waiting for the improvements to the A303 what we didn't envisage was.....a punch up!    Where on earth has chivalry gone????   But then it was our experience when handing out campaign flyers last year, that tempers are frayed on the east bound leg, so we stopped doing it and continued with the "in holiday mood" west bound queue!  
It's a great pity that mankind cannot be civil with one another, because we have the "back to work" syndrome on us!!!   So I say.....
Although not installed..... it may be something for
to consider at both the Berwick Down and West Amesbury interchanges!  Yes! I know they changed the name to Highways England.....

Or just use commonsense and......

DO IT!

Tuesday 5 May 2015

Rat Running Understood!

It's unfortunate really, that rat running is something we all have to do at times.....heck! even we locals to the area around Stonehenge, have to rat run to visit the bank or Tesco in Amesbury, rather than sit in a queue on the A303.....west bound is worse at the start of a holiday weekend and east bound worse at the close of the weekend and so it goes on, and on, and on, for us throughout the summer and into the autumn and then starts again around the Festive season!!!!
Now, we at STAG would never want to upset the travelling public and fully understand the need to divert off the A303 at Amesbury or Solstice Park, to meander across Salisbury Plain and get a head start on those stuck in the queue.....which can be 2 hours to travel 6 miles in the height of summer, So! if you intend rat running, we have just two requests and these are...... 1) Unfortunately, some of you feel the need to drive at speeds up to and in excess of 50mph within our village confines, so please drive UP TO the limit of 30mph!  and 2) our second request would be to ask, if you are headed west bound and have come off on the rat run, could you read the signs when you reach Rollestone Cross Roads and please TURN LEFT!!!   Our little village of Shrewton
cannot cope with the increased speed, or the capacity of cars, lorries and vans.   Actually, on second thoughts, I have a third request which is to ask if you will be courteous in our High Street when there's a need to stop while a mum with her buggy crosses the road, or an elderly person, allowing local people go about their daily routine.
It may be some time before any amendments even start on the A303 and we trust you will not be too upset with the recent posters put around our village..... and help us with this one too...thanks!



Wednesday 8 April 2015

Your Carriage Awaits......

A story has appeared in this week's news about English Heritage and it concerns the
"Land Trains" which have now been withdrawn from the site: 
ITV Meridian http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2015-04-07/stonehenge-land-trains/ 
by Andrew Matthews yesterday:
7 April 2015 at 1:44pm 
Popular land trains suddenly withdrawn from Stonehenge.  
"All five of the land trains at the popular landmark were suddenly withdrawn at once, last week for 'servicing' - just days before thousands of people were expected to visit the monument for Easter.  Yesterday red faced English Heritage - who use the land trains to take tourists from the £27m new Visitors Centre to the Stones - had no idea when they would be returning.  Each train carries about 45 passengers, the one and a half mile trip to the Stones. Tourists now have to make the trip in a fleet of buses."  
English Heritage say: "They have all gone for the moment. They went about a week ago. We do not know when they will be back. "The land trains are being serviced and will be off site for several weeks while we also take the opportunity to look at design improvements."

Unfortunately, this comment from EH is untrue because the Land Trains have not been in use since January, following some very major problems throughout last year.....and if only they would read this blog, because we told them this would happen in this posting titled: "Uncle Simon's New Tin Shed.....dated 07/01/14....and to save you looking it up, here's what we said:
See the Noddy train, take a ride .....you'll be so excited because it's one and half miles on the bumpy Noddy Train before you'll see Stonehenge!    Remember to take those travel sick pills tho'!
See the engine huff and puff!...
See the gear box fall out....oh dear! I hear today that the bonnet of one of the land rovers was up again yesterday, and you may even get the chance to use your mechanical skills!!
Wouldn't it have been nice if English Heritage had stuck to their plan to save the environment and decided to use the beautiful Clydesdale horse instead - and all that lovely manure they're missing out on, could be sold for even more money in the coffers!!
Instead, what do we have?..... but.....Will, Till, and Lil,
the single decker buses all liveried in EH brown, plus, at busy times, English Heritage find it necessary to use Salisbury Reds too!!!!

Now! we have a theory here at STAG H.Q. and it's this.......

In a secretive deal, English Heritage, having failed to get the Land Rover towed land train, to work efficiently, have clinched a deal with the operators of Hengistbury Head's www.visithengistburyhead.co.uk "Noddy Train" to purchase all of their rolling stock.
All of the redundant rolling stock from the latter, will be re-liveried in EH's brown colour;  upgraded to accomodate the increased payload, seats widened, and trailers re-plated to deal with this increased payload, and pressed into service using the new tractor units "double header" Land Rovers using the new, Euro 6 compliant engines.   Land Rover say they have every confidence the 6.0 litre turbo diesel engines will be ready by launch date of Octember the nurth 2022, and that any issues pulling the 42 tonne GVW carriages will have been resolved by the launch date!

Friday 20 March 2015

Car Park extension 8 to 2 against.....

On behalf of followers of STAG, I attended the Planning Meeting where the application to extend the visitor's car park at Stonehenge World Heritage Site (WHS) was debated, considered and finally......rejected.....!
Along with Cllr Ian West, I used my right to, an allowed 3 minute presentation - taking only
1min 45sec, I took the centre chair facing some 10 other Councillors, having prepared my ground only minutes before!   Following this and a show of hands.....the application was thrown out by 8 votes to 2.....BINGO! We do hold some weight after all!  
Here's a precis of my posting on 16th January where I commented about the "lack of joined up thinking:
Applications have been submitted to www.wiltshire.gov.uk to extend both the
coach park Ref: 14/12106/FUL and the visitor vehicle/car park Ref:14/12107/FUL
Apparently www.english-heritage.org.uk did not envisage such an increase in visitors and as Simon Thurley CEO of EH previously said..."we are a victim of our own success."
Whist we as locals, are pleased that the visitor numbers have increased by 300,000 in the first year, therefore contributing toward the economy of Wiltshire, no provision was made for this increase at the outset when detail for the New Visitor's Centre was conceived, and now we have a situation where more of Wiltshire's rural countryside will be taken up....for them to....as
Cllr Ian West commented "build themselves out of a problem" and we know they will continue to do so!
Everyone agrees.......the Visitor's Centre was built in the wrong place and is too far away from the monument, therefore contributing to the already queueing traffic on the A303. Visits are now taking longer as more artifacts of interest are added, making the previous one and half hour visit, now reaching 2 - 3 hours.
The present car park is already a blot on the land scape, especially when the sun shines onto cars parked, making a dazzling and distracting eyesore which does not lend itself to our beautiful rural County......so, now they want to extend this for even more cars, a further 26 coaches along with 50 staff vehicles. You can see the plans, comment or object to the foregoing on Wiltshire County's web page under :

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Dan Snow interview....comments as much use as a colander.....!!

We think the folks from Stonehenge Alliance, historian Dan Snow....yes! that Dan Snow, son of Peter and especially Tom Holland, another historian, are so up themselves, that they may have been rather surprised and even a little upset when some of the STAG team, pitched up at By-way 12 yesterday, to the interviews with BBC Wilts Radio and BBC South Today.   We used our right to walk the by-way and at the same time, to put up a few posters along side the one for Stonehenge Alliance's petition.



Judging from the surprised look on their faces, we don't think the people of SH Alliance were actually aware of who we were until probably Paul Clifton of  the BBC enlightened them!   You can listen here to the interview on BBC Wiltshire and the T.V. story on BBC South Today:
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02l4050#auto
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b054xmv6/south-today-17032015
My thanks go to Will Walder and Paul Clifton for providing a balance by including STAG in the story!

On listening to the interview with Broadcaster and President of the Council for British Archaeology, Dan Snow, I found his response to the questions, lightweight, arcane, uninformed, and his projection all over the place.  Actually, all of it could be compared to a
i.e. none of it held water and as you see, we made it green because we think it's probably his favourite colour!!!!

Totally against plans to either dual, tunnel or improve the A303 around Stonehenge, and if we must tunnel, it should be 4.5km, therefore costing far more than the present costing of £1.2 billion and adding a further 10 years to the plan......Will they come up with the financial difference?   I doubt it!!  
Dan Snow and his like, are rightfully worried about the disturbance of archaeology around and under Stonehenge.   Where on earth do they get their information.....of course the tunnel is not going directly....under the monument and one can see from this possible map, that Stonehenge is not involved in the tunneling proposals.  What ever route it may take, experts designing said improvement, are well aware of the archaeology of the area.   Nothing has been confirmed, it may even follow the existing A303!!  
Whilst he agrees something needs to be done about the whole of A303, he was dismissive of the queues around Stonehenge, saying at interview, that nothing should be done about the 3 mile existing single carriageway stretch and "it should be left as is", and he thinks that it's... "not a bad solution".   We should just accept that the Stonehenge section will have to be..... "slightly Slower".   What about the accidents Mr Snow?   He goes on to suggest that signs should direct all traffic for the SHVS north and through Larkhill, and that he "could put this into place right now using a felt tip pen and a piece of paper"!   What a frivolous comment and I'm wondering what Cllr Graham Wright would have to say about that??    Mr Snow....we locals or anyone requiring to get to all parts to the north of our beautiful county, or even westbound on the A303, already use that route....call it rat running but we have no choice, the alternative being to sit in the queue for up to 2 hours in the summer, just to visit the supermarket - freezer food going off.....so! you're wrong about the "slightly slower" bit!!!
At the end of the interview, Lee Stone at BBC Wiltshire used the word "strident" to describe Dan Snow's response and that he...Dan Snow and myself were: miles and miles and miles apart!......I have another idea........
Call up Kenny Everett on You Tube and watch "The General" we could do with a good laugh!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMHDBL7CNA4

And I couldn't resist snitching this one from our sister blog: http://bypasswinterbournestoke.blogspot.co.uk/
"I think, however, it is only fair to leave the last word to the "opposition" - the Stonehenge Alliance...
...as they clearly suggest here. Please contact UNESCO and show your support for dualling the A303 - preferably in a tunnel!" You should also sign up to the STAG campaign!