Unesco proposes to add Stonehenge to the “danger list” of the world heritage

Stonehenge has been proposed as an addition to the list of “world heritage in danger” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

The UN World Heritage Committee has published a draft decision to add the ancient monument in Wiltshire to the list, which aims to support conservation action and international assistance for threatened sites.

It comes amid ongoing concerns and lengthy legal battles over plans to build a road tunnel nearby to ease pressure on the A303.

Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS) lost a High Court challenge in February over Transport Secretary Mark Harper’s backing of plans, which include the two-mile tunnel, to repair eight miles of road.

The UN draft document notes: “The proposed A303 scheme remains a threat to the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV).”

The World Heritage Committee (WHC) will vote to add the site to the danger list at a meeting in New Delhi between July 21 and 31.

National Highways said the plan for the tunnel would eliminate the sight and sound of traffic passing the site and reduce travel times.

However, the Stonehenge Alliance, which campaigns against the tunnel, welcomed the committee’s proposals.

Historian Tom Holland, the group’s chairman, said: “When you’re in a hole, stop digging – and when the hole is one that’s been dug by your political opponents, definitely stop digging.

“The new government will have the perfect opportunity to reverse a road scheme that is not only ridiculously expensive but risks damaging the country’s international reputation.

“Hopefully whoever comes to power next week will take it over.”

John Adams, an SSWHS director, said: “This is a devastating verdict on the National Highways plans.

“Either way you look at it, this scheme will be extremely harmful and should be scrapped.

“The money should instead be spent on improving public transport links to and around the South West.

“This would be the best way to reduce pressure on the A303 while retaining views of the Stones for passing travellers.”

The Stonehenge site, along with Avebury, was declared a World Heritage Site of Outstanding Universal Value by Unesco in 1986 due to the size of the megaliths, the sophistication of their concentric plans and the complexes of Neolithic and Bronze Age sites and monuments.

The A303 is a congestion hotspot, with motorists heading to and from the South West during peak holiday periods often stuck in long queues on the single carriageway near the stones.