The public consultation ended on 17 October 2008.

Decision on location of the new visitor centre at Stonehenge

Following public consultation on proposals to improve the setting and visitor experience at Stonehenge, the unanimous recommendation of the stakeholders who make up the Project Implementation Group (led by English Heritage) to locate the new visitor centre at Airman’s Corner has been agreed by the Department for Culture and Media and Sport (DCMS).

Public consultation, which took place from July to October 2008, indicated that the two most preferred locations for the visitor centre were the Fargo Plantation followed by Airman’s Corner.

The Project Implementation Group considered the feasibility of both these preferred options, taking into account the impact on landscape, local environment and archaeology and accordingly determined that Airman’s Corner represented the best possible solution. A summary of the consultation findings is set out below.

Consultation Responses

A three month public consultation on the future of Stonehenge took place between July 15th and October 17th 2008. It sought views and feedback from members of the public and other stakeholders on the proposed environmental improvements and on draft revisions to the World Heritage Site Management Plan (WHSMP).

A range of consultation materials were produced, a booklet was emailed to 14,500 households in the vicinity, public exhibitions were held in Amesbury, Salisbury and London, and a website was developed.

In total 886 responses were received – 582 related to the environmental improvements and 304 to the World Heritage Site Management Plan.

Summary of results relating to the Environmental Improvements Project

There was strong support for the proposed improvements:

• 96% of respondents agreed that the visitor experience at Stonehenge should be improved;

• 93% agreed that the environment around Stonehenge should be improved;

• 85% agreed that the A344 adjacent to Stonehenge should be closed.

Of the five options for the location of the new visitor facilities, the most preferred locations were Fargo Plantation (215 respondents) followed by Airman’s Corner (145 respondents) followed by a third option – a variant of Fargo with the visitor centre at Fargo with parking at Airman’s Corner. The least preferred options were those that proposed visitor facilities and parking at Rollestone Camp.

Summary of Results relating to the World Heritage Site Management Plan

There was strong support for the revised WHS Management Plan (link to WHSMP):

• 85% of respondents agreed with the Vision for the World Heritage Site;

• 84% supported the five Strategic Objectives of the Management Plan;

• 81% supported the eight long term aims;

• 88% agreed that the contents of the Management Plan are broadly acceptable.

Aim 5 (to reduce the impacts of roads and traffic on the outstanding universal value of the world heritage site and to improve sustainable access to it) and Aim 7 (the long-term objectives for reducing the impact on the A303 on the WHS and the creation of a permanent world class visitor centre should be kept under review) were clearly indicated to be the most important of the eight aims, being cited by over 80% of respondents in both cases.

Download: Click on the document you require

Public Consultation Booklet (38 pages - 2.1Mb)

WHS Management Plan (160 pages - 2.4Mb)

WHS Management Plan Summary (12 pages - 800Kb)

Stonehenge viewed from the East © English Heritage

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