Planning consent revoked for Stonehenge tunnel

Planning consent has been formally revoked for the controversial road tunnel at Stonehenge, but only after millions had been spent on the cancelled project.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said "exceptional circumstances" had led it to revoke the development consent order (DCO) which would have included a tunnel, two junctions and a northern bypass in the vicinity of the world heritage site.

The A303 scheme was originally given planning permission in 2023, but was scrapped due to financial reasons in 2024, having already had £179.2m spent on it.

Wiltshire Council member Martin Smith said: "This is a huge blow for Wiltshire, our communities and the wider South West region."

"We are extremely disappointed that the government has decided to revoke the DCO for the A303 stonehenge tunnel," Smith added.

"There has not been any discussion on a viable alternative that reduces congestion and stops the rat‑running through Wiltshire villages."

The DfT said the decision had been made by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander in light of the project's "exceptional circumstances", which it said includes "a substantial change in the scheme's deliverability" since the DCO was approved and that it "no longer aligns with current strategic policy objectives".

It added that the revocation would "remove the planning blight that continues to affect the land in question" and would enable "alternative infrastructure or development proposals to come forward that better reflect current needs".

The department said it was committed to "investing in projects" that drive growth, and that it is spending nearly £5bn on key roads in 2026.

The long-running legal process could potentially continue with the Planning Inspectorate confirming that the decision can be challenged by a judicial review "in the next six weeks."

Were the project to be revived in future, the revocation means that the applicant would have to apply again from scratch.

Kate Freeman from the Stonehenge Alliance, which opposed the scheme, said that new alternatives needed exploring.

"The South West has been neglected in terms of transport infrastructure for many years - we need investment and some of the savings should be used to improve the region's public transport network," she said.

"We all ought to get together and make sure there is investment here for local and regional transport with pilot schemes trialled to see what is effective."

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