| Posted: January 15, 2015
Read more: http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Stonehenge-project-mean-years-hell-local/story-25862880-detail/story.html#ixzz3Oyx3Xgqn
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This is a story in the Western Daily Press today sent in by Councillor Ian West who has worked tirelessly for many years on improving our lives around the area of Stonehenge and the new Visitor's Centre.
A lack of joined up thinking has been prevalent throughout the design and building of the new visitor's centre for Stonehenge WHS, and its positioning, some 1 and a half miles from the monument and now we have yet another situation where......"they" got it wrong again!!
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 Ian 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 than ever as more artifacts of interest are added, making the previous one and half hour visit, now reaching 2 - 3 hours.
The A344 should not have been closed prior to fixing the A303 as this means, those intending to visit the WHS are now required to remain in the queue all the way to Longbarrow roundabout, which at peak times during the summer months, the extra two and a half miles, can add 2 hours to their journey. While visitors to the Centre try to keep to their time slot, in remaining in the queue, they can see the monument as they pass along the A303.....as I said earlier.....lack of joined up thinking!!!
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 :
Wiltshire Council > Planning Applications > By
Planning Number > the two numbers you need are: 14/12106/FUL coach and
14/12107/FUL car, then go to “Make a comment” and if you would like to put in an objection, which we hope you will, it can be written on this page, when it will be shown along with others on their site.
You can view other objections on the
“Download Plans & Documents” button, on the same site and also view the plans of EH’s intentions. They say the applications are for a "temporary 2 year period", but I think we all know, this will not be the case.....after all, why would they spend all that extra money for just 2 years!
The diagram above shows the existing coach park in white, the green bit is the application to extend into farm land and the red bit - also part of the extension, is the contractor's compound.
“Download Plans & Documents” button, on the same site and also view the plans of EH’s intentions. They say the applications are for a "temporary 2 year period", but I think we all know, this will not be the case.....after all, why would they spend all that extra money for just 2 years!
The diagram above shows the existing coach park in white, the green bit is the application to extend into farm land and the red bit - also part of the extension, is the contractor's compound.
