§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Highways Agency has developed a preferred route for improving the A.303 through the Stonehenge World Heritage Site; if so, whether this was in advance of any comprehensive environmental assessment of the site, conducted in accordance with the combined requirements of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, English Heritage, the National Trust, the International Commission on Monuments and Sites and the statutory amenity societies; and, if so, whether they will now commission such a study. [HL2853]
§ Lord WhittyAs part of its normal process for appraising road schemes, the Highways Agency has consulted widely with the relevant statutory bodies and amenity groups and has carried out extensive environmental assessments during the development of the A.303 Stonehenge Improvement scheme. Environmental survey work, including archaeological and landscape surveys, has taken place since 1991.
The announcement of the preferred route will be made this Friday, 25 June. However the scheme will be subject to further environmental assessment and consultation with statutory bodies and others prior to publication of the full Environmental Impact Assessment along with the necessary draft statutory orders which, if confirmed, would authorise construction of the project.