The chancellor is widely expected to scrap plans for a £1.7bn road tunnel under Stonehenge today in a bid to plug a "black hole" in Britain's finances.
In an address to parliament on Monday (July 29), Rachel Reeves will reportedly announce the cancellation of a host of road and rail projects as the º£½ÇÊÓƵ reportedly faces a £20bn gap in its budget. A Treasury internal audit of the public finances is set to be published today by the new government, which has blamed the gap on the previous Conservative administration.
The controversial two-mile Stonehenge Tunnel, which would have moved part of the often-congested A303 under the heritage site, is among numerous schemes facing the axe.
Earlier this year, a stretch of the A360 was closed for three months so Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks could carry out works to power the tunnel. The road only reopened at the beginning of July.
Danny Kruger, MP for East Wiltshire, has called for a "credible alternative" if the tunnel scheme is scrapped. Posting on social media, he said: "Many residents in Wiltshire will be deeply disappointed that the project to relieve the horrendous traffic congestion through our villages has been axed.
"If this report is true is it essential that the government comes forward with a credible alternative plan - funded by the savings from scrapping the tunnel - to improve the road network around the A303.
"These improvements have been needed for years but delayed in anticipation of the tunnel. The government must now set out how it will help our towns and villages cope with the volume of cars and lorries that clog up our roads."
The Conservative party has dismissed the claims as a way for the new government to hike taxes. Jeremy Hunt, the shadow chancellor, said: "Their motive is clear: having promised not to raise taxes 50 times before the election they now need a pretext but trying to scam the British people so soon after being elected is a high-risk strategy doomed to fail."
Contracts worth more than £1bn have already been awarded to contractors for the Stonehenge tunnel scheme.
