The UK High Court has dismissed an activist complaint against the government's plans to build a tunnel under the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Stonehenge. However, the plans for a tunnel near the monument raise many objections from archaeologists and environmentalists, UNN reports with reference to the Independent and France24.
Details
Opponents of the £1.7 billion ($2.1 billion) project pointed to planning officials' assessment that the tunnel could cause "permanent and irreversible damage" to the site, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. According to the High Court judge's 50-page ruling, the ministers "rightly focused on the relevant policy" and the protesters' evidence "provides no basis to undermine that conclusion.
It should be noted that in 2021, the High Court canceled the tunnel project due to the environmental problems that its construction could create. The Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site group and a private citizen who owns land near the proposed construction site, Andy Rind-Tutt, argued that plans to build the tunnel, especially the western section closer to Stonehenge, could cause "permanent and irreversible damage to the site.
The government initially approved the plans, but last year revived the project. After the new court ruling, the protesters said they were determined to continue their fight.
While this decision is a huge blow and exposes the site to state-sponsored vandalism by National Highway, we will continue to fight. In the final days of a Conservative government that has done so much damage to the country, we cannot allow it to destroy our heritage as well
What is Stonehenge
A giant stone structure near the city of Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire was built about five thousand years ago, at about the same time as the Egyptian pyramids.
It is still not clear exactly who built this megalithic complex and why. The area around Stonehenge seems to have been of great importance to the Druids in Neolithic Britain. On astronomically significant days, modern pagans gather near the stones of Stonehenge.
In the immediate vicinity of Stonehenge is the lesser-known Avebury Ring stone circle, the West Kenneth Long Barrow mound, which is believed to be even older than Stonehenge, and the man-made chalk mound Silbury Hill, the highest prehistoric mound created by man in Europe, the purpose of which is still under debate.
Recall
The United Kingdom has agreed on a new procedure for extending visas for Ukrainians. According to it, people who were forced to leave their homes due to Russia's invasion almost two years ago will be able to stay in the UK until September 2026.