A303 Stonehenge Amesbury to Berwick Down Highways UK Conference 2017

Introductions Derek Parody, Project Director A303 Stonehenge, Highways England Phil McMahon, Inspector of Ancient Monuments, Historic England Phillip Morris  - Senior Project and Stakeholder Manager (South West Infrastructure), National Trust Neil Macnab, Heritage Lead, AmW (AECOM,Mace,WSP)

How hard can it be to go from this……!

…..and this……

……..to this ?

One Stonehenge - Over 60 failed previous routes!

The case for the A303 Stonehenge Amesbury to Berwick Down As part of the most direct route between the South West and the South East, the A303 at Stonehenge plays a big part on the lives of tens of thousands of people. Several sections of the route are single carriageway, causing congestion and delays. One of these is between Amesbury and Berwick Down, where the A303 runs through the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites World Heritage Site (WHS). The Government has made £1.6bn available to upgrade the A303 Stonehenge – Amesbury to Berwick Down. This investment will transform journey reliability and enhance the setting of the WHS.

Scheme objectives The Client Scheme Requirements Economic growth – In combination with other schemes on the route, to enable growth in jobs and housing by providing a free flowing and reliable connection between the South East and the South West peninsula. Transport – To create a high-quality route that resolves current and predicted traffic problems and improves links between the South East and the South West. Environment and community – To contribute to the enhancement of the historic landscape within the WHS, to improve biodiversity along the route and to provide a positive legacy to communities adjoining the road. Cultural heritage – To contribute to the conservation and enhancement of the WHS by improving access both within and to the site.

The Preferred Route The plan below shows our preferred route, which was confirmed by the Secretary of State for Transport in September 2017. About the preferred route Although the route has been partly modified since consultation, the key features of the scheme remain the same. It is still a twin-bore tunnel with portals and approach roads within the WHS, plus junctions with the A345 and A360 either side of the WHS and a bypass for Winterbourne Stoke. There has been no change to the eastern section of the route, meaning the location and design of the eastern tunnel portal and the A345 junction we proposed at consultation will now be optimised, along with the other elements of the scheme, as part of its ongoing development. However, the western portal and the route in the western part of the WHS are now much closer to the line of the current A303. This avoids many important archaeological sites, including the newly-discovered barrows just to the east of the A360. The modified alignment also avoids any risk of the road intruding on the view of the setting sun from Stonehenge during the winter solstice. Before consultation there was no clear preferred bypass option for Winterbourne. You have helped us decide that the northern route is the preferred option.

Scheme overview A high quality dual two lane all-purpose carriageway between Amesbury and Berwick Down. The circa 8 miles (circa 13 kilometres)  scheme will link existing dual carriageways. The principal elements of the scheme are: A new dual carriageway Circa 1.8 miles (Circa 2.9 kilometres) twin bore tunnel where the road passes Stonehenge A new junction to the east between the A303 and A345 accommodating free-flowing traffic movements between both roads A new junction to the west of and outside the WHS accommodating free-flowing A303 and A360 traffic movements, as well as a link to Winterbourne Stoke A northern bypass of Winterbourne Stoke, including a viaduct over the Till Valley Improvements to the local road network

Two surface bypass options and the 2.1km tunnel taken to PI in 2004 How have we got here? Constructive pre-application engagement Phil McMahon, Historic England 2014 DfT Feasibility Study Two surface bypass options and the 2.1km tunnel taken to PI in 2004 Short timescale to respond Early agreement to take joint approach with NT to identify consensus position Rapid assessment of presented options None stacked up against current UNESCO and UK heritage policy and guidance

Constructive Conservation approach Constructive Conservation is a positive, well-informed and collaborative approach to conservation. It is a flexible process of helping people understand their historic environment and using that understanding to manage change. Supporting innovative schemes that protect and enhance the significance of buildings and historic places. Working collaboratively with owners, architects and developers to help them develop proposals for creative uses of historic places. Goal is sustainable change where development conserves and enhances the significance of the historic place

Constructive Conservation in action Positive engagement We knew the DfT feasibility study options didn’t work for the WHS, but what might? Joint assessment with NT using ICOMOS HIA Guidance to identify further potential route options Identified the potential for a bored tunnel scheme of at least 2.9km ……If sensitively designed, located and mitigated

Constructive Engagement ahead of Preferred Route Announcement Encouraging early site investigations to minimise risks/identify constraints Leading engagement with UNESCO World Heritage Centre Input into high level principles: Client Scheme Requirements ensure scheme is heritage-centred Securing internal prioritisation across Historic England so we can work at DCO pace Early establishment of Heritage Monitoring & Advisory Group – heritage organisations working together to provide high-calibre input on the archaeological dimension Establishing Scientific Committee of experts to provide specialist input on prehistoric archaeology of WHS

Partnership working in scheme development Phillip Morris, National Trust Importance of partnership working with stakeholders in iterative design process to achieve the best outcomes Understanding allows for informed and realistic feedback Challenges of internal resourcing Balancing organisational risk

Collaborative working in design development Neil Macnab AmW AmW appointed in June 2017 to take forward PCF Stage 3 – Preliminary Design, EIA & DCO Application AmW A303 project team co-located with Highways England’s team at their office in Bristol for stream-lined delivery Environmental specialists and heritage partners contribute to weekly design workshops with Highways England to steer the design solutions Monthly heritage consultee meetings now superseded by attendance at weekly design team workshops by heritage partners and attendance at HMAG Meetings by AmW Decisions are documented at meetings and through an options sift, recording pros and cons for each topic and indicating a preferred solution where possible Regular monthly programme planning & collaboration meeting between AmW and Highways England

Next Steps Formal public consultation and DCO process Early 2018: pre-application public consultation The consultation will focus on our proposals for the route, providing a greater level of detail than that shown at the options consultation Feedback from the consultation will be taken into consideration before the DCO application to the Planning Inspectorate in late 2018

How to find out more To read the full report of our 2017 consultation and our post-consultation Scheme Assessment Report, please see our website www.highways.gov.uk/a303stonehengepra Contact us at