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!!!
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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