The High Court’s decision to block plans to upgrade the A303 and build a tunnel under Stonehenge are set to deliver a £2bn-a-year body blow for the South West economy.
Campaigners have won a legal battle against Transport Secretary Grant Shapps’ approval of a £1.7bn eight-mile upgrade of the A303 from Amesbury to Berwick Down, including a two-mile tunnel under the standing stones.
Mr Justice Holgate, ruling on a challenge by Stonehenge World Heritage Site, ruled the minister’s decision was unlawful due to a lack of evidence for the impact on the historic site and a failure to consider alternatives.
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It means the future of the transport scheme is now unknown and the South West could miss out on what business groups were predicting as a huge investment bonanza.
Tim Jones, chairman of the South West Business Council (SWBC), said the Government’s own figures had predicted it leading to a £40bn boost for the region over a 20-year period.
“So the cost of this decision for the South West will be about £2bn a year - negative,” he said. “That’s scary numbers. It’s a complete body blow.”
SWBC predicted that just by completing the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down (Stonehenge) scheme, including the tunnel, the West Country would gain a £4bn boost.
Further improvements to the A303, particularly by dualling the road between Honiton and the M3, would escalate this to £40billion as it would ease access to Southampton, and other south coast destinations, and London and the South East.
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But Mr Jones said that is now all in jeopardy and said:: “We thought a positive decision had been made and this would kickstart a new series of investments. That’s now put in doubt. There is no certainty that it will be possible to reverse this decision.”
The Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership called the High Court decision “a huge disappointment” and said it would be writing to the Government to find out how it plans to improve transport into the region.
David Ralph, chief executive of Heart of the South West LEP, said: “This is a huge disappointment for many south west businesses and constitutes yet again a failure of Government to deliver on its promises to address the inadequate infrastructure getting into and out of the south west and specifically the A303 over the last two decades.
“We will be writing to the Department of Transport and Highways England directly to clarify how they propose to move forward and deliver the connectivity that is so badly overdue and talk directly with our MPs to seek reassurances that progress can be made as soon as practically possible.”
The CBI also saw the High Court decision as a major setback and Ben Rhodes, CBI acting South West director, said: “Increasing capacity on the A303 – while protecting the world heritage Stonehenge site – has long been a priority for thousands of businesses across the region.
“The High Court’s rejection of this proposal will come as a major blow to businesses operating in – or trading with – the South West and the many firms preparing to deliver this project.
“This legal decision does not lessen the need for a sustainable solution. Government must now gather the necessary evidence to ensure this much needed infrastructure upgrade can go ahead in a way which meets the 海角视频’s net zero targets and maintains the heritage of the site.
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“This would inject fresh optimism into the South West and boost regional productivity, while showing that the Government is serious about fulfilling its decarbonisation and levelling-up pledges.”
Peninsula Transport - the body formed by the five lead transport local authorities in the region - said it was “disappointed to hear the outcome of the judicial review”, and will be examining the details of the decision.
Andrea Davis, Peninsula Transport chair, said: “Peninsula Transport remains firmly of the view that the A303 Stonehenge scheme is essential to delivering much needed improvements to the A303/A358/A30 corridor. The investment for this scheme is essential to the economic performance of the South West peninsula.
“We will be closely examining the judicial review report, and urging the Government to ensure that any lessons that can be learnt will be done so quickly, as well as aiming to minimise the effect the results may have on other schemes in the region.
“Whilst the result of the judicial review is a disappointment, we will continue to support the Department for Transport and Highways England to ensure that they can deliver end-to-end improvement along this essential travel corridor.”
Early in 2021 more than 150 small and medium-sized companies signed up to potentially work on the project. Even preliminary work was expected to provide opportunities, with Highways England getting ready to appoint a main contractor by early 2022.
Highways England had started working closely with business organisations including Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Business West, the Federation of Small Businesses, Salisbury and District Chamber of Commerce and Salisbury BID.
Mr Shapps gave the go-ahead for the Stonehenge scheme in November 2021, despite advice from Planning Inspectorate officials that it would cause “permanent, irreversible harm” to the Unesco World Heritage Site in Wiltshire.
After a challenge from SSWHS Mr Justice Holgate found the decision was “unlawful” on two grounds. He concluded there was a “material error of law” in the decision-making process because there was no evidence of the impact on each individual asset at the historic site. He also found Mr Shapps failed to consider alternative schemes, in accordance with the World Heritage Convention and common law.
The judge said: “The relevant circumstances of the present case are wholly exceptional. In this case the relative merits of the alternative tunnel options compared to the western cutting and portals were an obviously material consideration which the (Transport Secretary) was required to assess.
“It was irrational not to do so. This was not merely a relevant consideration which the (Transport Secretary) could choose whether or not to take into account. I reach this conclusion for a number of reasons, the cumulative effect of which I judge to be overwhelming.”
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The proposed tunnel is part of a £1.7bn investment in the A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down. The road, which is a popular route for motorists travelling to and from the South West, is often severely congested on the single carriageway stretch near the stones.
Highways England says its plan for a two-mile tunnel will remove the sight and sound of traffic passing the site and cut journey times, but some environmentalists and archaeologists have voiced their opposition to the plan due to its potential impact on the area. The project is classified as nationally significant, which means a development consent order is needed for it to go ahead.