This is the first post on the blog for over two years and we have just come to the end of the public phase of the DCO Inquiry. It's not that I have lost interest in events, or that nothing has been going on with regard to the A303 Stonehenge to Berwick Down Scheme; nothing could be further from the truth. It's just that there has been so much going on that I've had to prioritise my efforts on those things that have demanded immediate responses and my blogging has suffered - others things in life have greater importance than a mere road scheme.
I don't intend to try and catch-up now, just reflect on some of the things I have noted over the last few years. If my observations cause offence - tough!
Bear in mind, before reading on, that this blog has long advocated a bypass for Winterbourne Stoke and an improvement of the traffic situation past Stonehenge. My preferred option, as often stated, would have been a very log tunnel from east of Solstice Park and emeging somewhere west of Yarnbury Castle. Tht was never going to fly, so a credible alternative, was a "far" northern route that ran mainly across the Salisbury Plain Training Area, north of Durrington, Larkhill, Shrewton and then cutting back to rejoin the existing A303 at Deptford. Not popular with the Army, to be sure, but very hard for them to justify hanging on to a piece of real estate acquired for an army of more than 2.5 million men and now used for 110,000 regulars and reserves and unsuitable for training with much of their long-range ordnance. Interestingly, the Examining Authority asked to see details of this route during the inquiry.
We were offered two poor alternatives by Highways England and we were left with the lesser of two poor choices - the northern route past Winterbourne Stoke and a tunnel that is as short as they felt they could get away with. That said, it will solve the traffic problems in the village, so I reluctantly have to support it. The alternative for us is traffic hell in perpetuity and for the rest of you the prospect of direct action on high days and holidays that will prevent you using the A303 and traversing the World Heritage Site.
What have we learned from the DCO process? Many things we anticipated and some we didn't.
Highways England, much as expected, have been pretty much immovable on any of their more nonsensical ideas. Whenever confronted with hard facts and rebuttals of their approach will fudge and prevaricate rather than change what they want to do.
They have, seemingly unwittingly, demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt, that only one of the many models they have used in devising the scheme is up to HMG standards. If the scheme is accepted, that should make claims for compensation for noise, pollution and visual damage so much easier.
We have been impressed by the impartiality of the independent chair of the Community Forum, set up by Highways England, who has guided many of us through the DCO process with sage words.
We have been impressed by the Planning Inspectorate and the DCO process itself.
Sadly, I've been disappointed by the activities of the Stonehenge Alliance and some of their more outspoken supporters on social media. I'm not sure that the level of hyperbole and in some cases downright lies (disappearing views!) they have used are justifiable. Whilst they may have conned some of the more gullible members of the British and International public to support their misguided cause, it's likely that the Planning Inspectorate have seen straight through it.
