Highways England putting us in the picture.....

As Stakeholders, we at STAG: Stonehenge Traffic Action Group, were invited to attend the morning briefing prior to the open exhibition at Antrobus House on Friday 19th, in Amesbury, which was to update us on the plans for the A303.  

We found this to be a most informative presentation and the "new" Highways England, a very professional bunch of approachable people.  
One of their staff members told me, their aim is to listen to you and me and be more open and up front with progress and within the presentation, were at pains to advise that the Government has provided money to upgrade the A303 and this could be in any one of a number of ways....i.e. it should not be presumed that the money was for a tunnel and only a tunnel!!!!
Here is the "Development Consent Order Process"

Following the briefing, the Open Exhibition between 1300 and 1900, had mixed response, but for me, there is definitely a feeling of openness.   Please read the detail on the link and watch the video at the http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/a303a358-work-to-create-an-expressway-to-the-south-west/

And now here's the alternative to Mr Andy Rhind Tutt's cockeyed idea......

You will recall my previous posting headed "Cock Womble" etc., on 22.01.16 ...... well here's a balance to set the records straight providing an alternative to that of Mr Rhind Tutt and as
Cllr Ian West told Highways England, it's the most popular among local people, and I say, the majority of those reading this blog on a regular basis.
My thanks in this instance to Tristan Cork - again, and the story, as one would expect, has been covered by Alex Rennie at www.salisburyjournal.co.uk and by www.bbc.co.uk/southtoday last Wednesday lunch time.
The A303 currently runs right past Stonehenge
A local councillor near Stonehenge has said local people were so fed up with the A303 bottleneck - and rat running through local villages, that they were prepared to lose the UNESCO World Heritage Status for the stones if it meant a good solution to the road problem.
Read more: http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Bypass-Stonehenge-lose-World-Heritage-Status-say/story-28717785-detail/story.html#ixzz40475BO6M
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Ian West, who represents the villages closest to the west of Stonehenge, spoke out as the Government launched a series of consultation meetings all along the length of the A303 in Wiltshire and Somerset, starting the long process that looks set to see a £2 billion tunnel dug under the stones.
He likened the plight of the people of Amesbury and its surrounding villages to that of Dresden – whose people demanded and got a new bridge built to alleviate traffic problems in the city centre, even though it meant UNESCO withdrew the prestigious World Heritage Status from the ancient German city.
Mr West formally submitted his idea to solve the A303 bottleneck, which occurs when the dual carriageway A303 passes close to Stonehenge and narrows to one lane. English Heritage have long demanded the road be moved or a tunnel built, and late in 2014, the Prime Minister pledged that a tunnel would be built.
The local Lib Dem councillor originally made his proposal ten years ago, at a time when Tony Blair's Government were wrestling with spiralling costs and controversy of their attempt to dig a Stonehenge tunnel.
He proposes a new open dual carriageway dug into a cutting slightly further to the south of Stonehenge, which could be landscaped to not be visible from the stones.
That would be significantly cheaper than a tunnel, but Mr West admitted it would mean some archaeology on the huge World Heritage Site around Stonehenge is damaged. Those fighting a 'short tunnel' plan oppose it because the eastern entrance would be dug within the WHS area too.
"The dual carriageway could be built into a beautifully landscaped cutting thereby putting the road out of sight of Stonehenge," he said. "If built sensitively, high-sided vehicles would not be seen and traffic not heard by visitors to the stones.
"Over the last 23 years or so that I have represented this area on the council, this scheme has been suggested by many residents to me and I believe it has a great deal of local support and merit.
"It is perhaps interesting to note that when Dresden in Germany needed to build a bypass round the city more than half the local population were content to lose their UNESCO status in order to have the much cheaper and more pragmatic solution of a bridge rather than a tunnel to relieve the congestion in the city.   "Perhaps the Stonehenge problem is similar in many ways to that of Dresden. The local people have lived with the A303 problem long enough," he added.
So! If we're comparing our problem with that of Dresden in Germany, why don't we hold a vote one way or another as to whether we stick with the UNESCO label probably pulling forward all those stick-in-the-muds who will cry out in aghastment (sic) !!! or lose it and move on.....after all.....Stonehenge is not going anywhere and neither is Dresden since it was rebuilt after WW2!!!

English Heritage has upset King Arthur and he's not a happy man!!!

My thanks again to Alex Rennie for this story appearing in our local paper and the story is also covered by www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire......Alex...You tell the locals and I'll tell the rest of the world!!!!

'Pay for pray' accusation after plans to charge for solstice parking at Stonehenge and ban alcohol

'Pay for pray' accusation after plans to charge for solstice parking and ban alcohol

Alex Rennie, Reporter/ News                

A SENIOR druid has accused English Heritage of creating a "pay to pray policy" after unveiling plans to charge for parking at the solstice celebrations.
King Arthur Pendragon then walked out of a "Roundtable" discussion after bosses at Stonehenge said they planned to ban alcohol.
The two changes are part of plans to reduce visitor numbers during both the winter and summer solstice. Numbers to the summer celebration hit a record 40,000 in 2014 while 7,000 revellers were at the winter event in December.

English Heritage say the changes have come "in order to reduce risk to those attending and to the monument itself".
However King Arthur said the changes "came out of the blue" and accused Stonehenge's owners of "sanitising" the celebrations.
"The ban on alcohol may sound like it makes sense but lets face it alcohol is legal in this country," he said.
"It is not for them to tell me how much alcohol we can use. There is also a problem with drugs and it will only encourage more people to use them."
King Arthur said he would fight the changes "tooth and nail" going as far as the high court if needed.

"It is getting ridiculous," he added. "Would you pay to park outside a church?"
English Heritage say that by introducing a parking charge, it will encourage car sharing and use of public transport.                                  
Kate Davies, Stonehenge’s General Manager, said: “Over the past few years, we have had lots of feedback from those attending the solstice celebrations, from families with young children to those for whom the stones holds a special spiritual significance.
“We hope that by prohibiting alcohol, it will help everyone to have a better experience of solstice. We have seen more and more people forego the car for public transport and we would like to see this trend continue. The solstice celebrations will still be free to attend but we hope that by introducing a parking charge, more people will choose to travel by bus.”

The story is already courting comment from local people in our village of Shrewton....
this from smfp49 who may have a point.
"I know exactly what will happen if parking charges are introduced - the attendees will park in nearby villages - most notably, Shrewton.  We will go back to the bad old days of encampments and rubbish in residential roads. Once again-English Heritage have demonstrated their lack of consideration for local people and we still have to put up with the A303 rat running, so I foresee absolute chaos"......local businesses be warned!!


The story appears again today - as an exclusive!!! by Tristan Cork in http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Alcohol-ban-Stonehenge-summer-solstice-sanitise/story-28673004-detail/story.html#comments

When the proposals were aired at a 'stakeholders' meeting on Thursday, leading druid King Arthur Pendragon walked out.
He said he opposed measures to stop the thousands of revellers and solstice worshippers taking alcohol into the site, and the plan to charge drivers of the thousands of cars that use a temporary car park in the fields near Stonehenge a fee to park there.
"I walked out of a meeting today leaving others to see what crumbs they may get from the masters' table," he said. "Now I have not been falling down drunk in years, but that's not the point. It's a celebration, not to be sanitised.
"If you think that's bad, point two is a charge for car-parking. I told them they were looking for confrontation. They told me to hold my tongue and I walked. I didn't need to hear any more," he added.
Not too sure about this comment tho':

TactileTangle  |  February 05 2016, 1:44PM

Good. Drugs are much easier to smuggle in than alcohol, so this will encourage people to take drugs rather than drink alcohol, ultimately leading to a safer, more enjoyable experience for everyone. I don't doubt whoever made this decision did so for the wrong reasons, but anything which encourages young people to experiment with drugs rather than alcohol can only be a good thing.

Reference the new car parking charges to attend Solstice 2016 one could of course drop in using one of these.....completely unnoticed and for free!

                   

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