National Highways has submitted extra knowledge to make stronger a brand new application for the £1.7bn A303 Stonehenge tunnel.
The transport secretary Grant Shapps requested more knowledge regarding the venture final November before alive to on a novel building consent expose (DCO).
The initial DCO used to be quashed by a High Court clutch in July final year after it ruled that Shapps had no longer bought a ample briefing on the draw’s heritage affect.
In November, the transport secretary published a letter, appealing new knowledge regarding the carbon and environmental affect of the draw, the functionality merits of an extended tunnel, the venture’s consistency with local or national insurance policies, and any utterly different knowledge that parties deem is expounded to a resolution.
National Highways has confirmed it has submitted new essential parts about different alternatives to the present concept as well to the draw’s environmental affect. Full essential parts of the brand new submissions will be made readily available within the extinguish, after which utterly different parties will be ready to reply.
The highways company acknowledged in an announcement: “We dwell confident the draw is the right kind solution to solving the internet site visitors complications along this notoriously congested section of the A303 and to settle the gaze and the sound of the internet site visitors from the Stonehenge panorama and the World Heritage Place.”
Shapps at first granted a DCO for the venture in November 2020. This used to be controversial at the time because it overruled the Planning Inspectorate, which had if truth be told helpful rejecting the plans attributable to the carry out of construction work and operation of the draw on agricultural land within the residence, as well to the carry out on air quality and emissions.
The DCO used to be attributable to this truth challenged within the High Court by the Attach Stonehenge World Heritage Place crew, which included the British Archaeological Belief and Chums of the Earth.
Mr Justice Holgate quashed the DCO in July 2021 on two parts. The foremost used to be a judgement that Shapps had no longer been neatly briefed on the venture’s “impacts on heritage property” and attributable to this truth would possibly no longer beget concept to be them when approving the DCO. The clutch additionally ruled that different plans for the tunnel had no longer been assessed.
Two different alternatives for the draw had been proposed. The foremost used to be to conceal roughly 800 metres of the avenue cutting near the World Heritage Place, and the second used to be to develop the bored tunnel so as that the 2 portals had been situated outdoors the western boundary of the heritage role.
In leisurely November, CN published that the awarding of the foremost contracts on the venture would be delayed whereas the resolution on the venture’s future used to be made. National Highways, then is named Highways England, had previously acknowledged it would possibly proceed procurement on the venture in expose to “preserve programme timescales as most attention-grabbing as doable”.
