Stonehenge Alliance Press Release

The UK appears to have persuaded Kenya to front a damaging amendment [1] to the World Heritage Committee’s draft recommendation on Stonehenge World Heritage Site. The Committee which is meeting in New Delhi in India this week [2], is likely to discuss the draft report on Stonehenge tomorrow, Wednesday, or on Thursday. The report recommends that the site be placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger as a result of the proposed A303 dual carriageway.

The proposed amendment would effectively overturn all previous Committee decisions and effectively green light the damaging road scheme [3]. It would be extremely concerning if it was passed, as it contains many inaccuracies and misleading statements.

The question is: have UK officials gone rogue in continuing to implement Conservative roads policy, or has the Labour Government approved the intervention?

John Adams, chair of the Stonehenge Alliance and one of the 3 directors of SSWHS, said:

“Kenya’s amendment looks like it was written by National Highways. It is full of inaccuracies and misleading statements and is in denial about the impact of the road. If passed it will undermine the credibility of the World Heritage Committee.

“Our world heritage deserves to be treasured and protected, not traded off in dodgy backroom deals. We wonder what Kenya has been promised in return, to propose such an outrageous attack on our heritage.

“The bigger question is whether these actions are the result of officials going rogue? Are they trying to continue the Conservative roads programme, or has the new Labour government green-lighted this?”

Tom Holland, president of the Stonehenge Alliance, said:

“Maybe Kenya’s sudden interest in the details of transport policy in Wiltshire derives from a longstanding interest in the Stonehenge landscape? But if so, I would like to see the evidence for it. Otherwise, it is hard not to suspect the worst.”

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Notes to editors:

[1] Kenya’s proposed amendment can be found here. A list of the inaccuracies and misleading statements is available from the Stonehenge Alliance.

[2] UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is holding its 46th meeting in New Delhi, India, from 21 – 31 July, 2024

[3] The road scheme was scrutinised by 5 planning inspectors in a 6 month examination. They recommended that it should not be built and that it would cause permanent and irreparable harm to the World Heritage Site.