Dear Editor,
On 23 June, a legal challenge against the Government’s plans for the Stonehenge Tunnel will come to court. It is the last chance to stop massive and irreparable damage being done to the archaeology and landscape of Britain’s most iconic World Heritage Site.
To say that the status of Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site is at stake is no exaggeration. UNESCO has objected to the scheme and will need to consider its position if the legal challenge fails and the scheme goes ahead.
I’m sure many of your readers will be interested in learning more about this catastrophic scheme and the on-going campaign to prevent it. The Stonehenge Alliance is inviting West England Bylines readers to a free webinar on Thursday 3 June at 7pm to hear two of the most distinguished opponents of the Stonehenge Tunnel and road widening scheme:
The two speakers will be:
- Mike Parker Pearson, Professor of British Later Prehistory at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL
- Phil Goodwin, Emeritus Professor and Senior Fellow of Transport Policy at UCL and the University of the West of England.
Tickets have been going rapidly. Click here to book. Early booking is advised. Livestreaming is being considered, so please join the waiting list in the event of a sell-out.
Mike Parker Pearson is Professor of British Later Prehistory at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL. He was director of the Stonehenge Riverside Project that worked to situate Stonehenge within the archaeology of the surrounding landscape, and his idea that the bluestones came from a dismantled Neolithic stone circle in Pembrokeshire recently made headlines around the world.
Phil Goodwin is Emeritus Professor and Senior Fellow of Transport Policy at UCL and the University of the West of England. Phil has served as transport economist at the Greater London Council, the director of the Transport Studies Unit at Oxford University, and is an advisor to the Department of Transport. He is a noted authority on travel demand, transport policy and climate change.
The event will be chaired by Stonehenge Alliance president, Tom Holland. Tom is also an award-winning historian and broadcaster. His most recent book is Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind.
The Stonehenge Alliance is a group of non-governmental organisations and individuals that seeks enhancements to the Stonehenge World Heritage Site and opposes development that would cause it significant harm.
Yours Sincerely.
[Name provided]
