High Court judge says Shapps' go-ahead for Stonehenge tunnel was unlawful

摘要

A High Court judge has upheld a legal challenge against transport secretary Grant Shapps' decision to give planning consent for the Stonehenge tunnel on the A303. Preservation group Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS) challenged Shapps' decision, claiming the project would cause significant harm to the Stonehenge World Heritage Site (WHS). The tunnel is part of the £1.7bn A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down improvement scheme, which includes a new dual carriageway with a tunnel to remove congestion from around Stonehenge. On 30 July, Mr Justice Holgate ruled that Shapps' decision to grant the development consent order last November was unlawful. He upheld two of the 10 grounds submitted for review. The judge found that the transport secretary "was not given legally sufficient material to enable him to make the assessments which the law required him to do" when reviewing "the significance of each designated heritage asset affected by the proposal".