Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the decision in the House of Commons yesterday as she outlined the government’s plans to reduce the country’s financial “black hole” created by the previous government’s £22bn overspend.
The chancellor’s statement followed a Treasury audit into the state of the public finances.
The Stonehenge Tunnel is one of several transport projects being cancelled, as Reeves explained “if we cannot afford it, we cannot do it.”
The A303 Stonehenge scheme, which comprised 12.9km of new dual carriageway, including a 3.2km tunnel, faced several legal challenges from campaigners opposed to it.
The project was initially granted consent in 2020 but, following a legal challenge over concerns about the environmental impact on the UNESCO World Heritage site, the decision was quashed by the High Court in 2021.
Rishi Sunak’s government approved it again in July last year when it granted a Development Consent Order but in December the scheme was put on hold for a second time after another High Court challenge by campaigners.
In February, a judicial review dismissed the campaigners’ challenge but in May, the campaign group, Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site, was granted permission to appeal the outcome of the review.
The latest challenge was heard by the Court of Appeal earlier this month and the decision was due later.
In October 2022, More JV, comprising FCC Construcción, WeBuild and BeMo Tunnelling, signed the main works contract for the project. National Highways had also awarded a £60m Delivery Assurance Partner contract to Costain and Mott MacDonald.
