Decision on New Visitor Centre at Stonehenge

The Government has announced a long-awaited decision today on the location of new visitor facilities for Stonehenge.

The chosen site for the visitor centre, Airman’s Corner, is about 2.5km (1.5 miles) west of the current visitor centre, on the junction of the A344 and A360. It is at the edge of the World Heritage Site and has good access to the Stones.

Together with integrated proposals to close the A344, this decision will improve the monument’s setting and presentation to visitors. The CBA has long held the view that current provision for public enjoyment of Stonehenge is woefully inadequate, and has campaigned for this outcome for some time now. The organisation took part in the public consultation on this issue in October last year and wrote to the Culture Minister Barbara Follett in February expressing support for both the Airman’s Corner location and the A344 proposals.

The decision has also been welcomed by The National Trust, the UK Commission for UNESCO, the South West of England Regional Development Agency, and South West Tourism. The National Trust, which owns the land around the site, is also supportive, regarding the new facilities as a great improvement both for the many thousands of visitors to Stonehenge, and also the wider setting of the monument itself.

CBA Director Dr Mike Heyworth MBE said of the decision:

The CBA welcomes this decision as part of a sustainable 21st-century solution to the dual challenges of improving visitor access and conservation for this outstandingly important World Heritage Site. We applaud the Government’s support, and the commitment of the project’s partners, in taking the first step towards creating the public facilities and environmental improvement that Stonehenge’s world class archaeological landscape deserves.

The scheme will include an efficient, all-weather visitor transit system, offering visitors the convenience of being dropped off near the monument. It is envisaged the new site will enable increased educational and interpretation facilities.

Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe, Chairman of English Heritage, said:

Airman’s Corner had wide support and is the unanimous recommendation of the project team – it is easily accessible by road, virtually uninhabited and supported by the major heritage groups and the landowners. The new centre will be designed by Denton Corker Marshall and will pay special regard to the sensitive landscape and other environmental issues.

The new plan proposes the closure of the A344/A303 junction (Stonehenge Bottom), and the section of the A344 from Stonehenge Bottom to the Stones will be decommissioned and grassed over. This would reunite Stonehenge with the ancient processional avenue and improve the setting of the monument. The junction closure will also eliminate a traffic black spot, leading to fewer accidents on this part of the A303. The remaining part of the A344 will be the route for the visitor shuttle service between Airman’s Corner visitor centre and the Stones.

It should be said that this decision is in principle only at this stage. A planning application will be submitted in the summer, when there will be further public consultation on the scheme. If the necessary funds can also be secured, construction work is expected to take place in 2011, with the new visitor facilities scheduled to open in 2012, in time for the London Olympics. But the decision opens the way for the next steps to take place, so that the task of working up the design, seeking planning permission and raising funding can be started.

Total costs for the project are expected to be up to 25 million pounds, with a range of private and public sources, including English Heritage, Heritage Lottery Fund, Highways Agency, Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Transport making contributions.

Since 1986, English Heritage and successive government ministers have pledged commitment to improving the standards of presentation and facilities at Stonehenge and taking the roads out of the landscape. In December 2008, following public consultation of the future of Stonehenge, two options for the location of a new visitor centre were proposed: Fargo Plantation and Airman’s Corner. The CBA has always expressed serious reservations about the impact of development at the Fargo site, and welcomes today’s decision.

For a full history of the management of Stonehenge, including the CBA’s involvement in campaigning for a better solution than at present, visit the CBA Current Issues section. Look out for the latest news on this from the CBA website and British Archaeology magazine.