Unesco could add Stonehenge to World Heritage in Danger list over plan to dig road tunnel

The decision will have to be voted upon by the member states of the World Heritage Committee at a meeting in New Delhi, India, in July, but one diplomat said that the decision would probably be approved.

People watch as the sun rises during the summer solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, southwest England, on 21 June, 2024. Photo: EPA

Stonehenge has had Unesco world heritage status since 1986, but in July 2023 the British government approved the building of a controversial road tunnel near Stonehenge despite efforts by campaigners to halt the £1.7 billion (US$2.16 billion) project.

The diplomat pointed out that London had decided to approve the project “despite repeated warnings from the World Heritage Committee since 2017”.

The planned tunnel is intended to ease congestion on an existing main road to southwest England that gets especially busy during the peak holiday periods.

Experts have warned of “permanent, irreversible harm” to the area and its spiritual value.

People attend the summer solstice at Stonehenge. Photo: EPA

Druids have held protests against the tunnel at Stonehenge, a site they consider sacred and where they celebrate the summer and winter solstice – the longest and shortest days of the year.

Last week, Stonehenge was the site of a more general protest against environmental destruction by two members of the activist group Just Stop Oil, who sprayed the stones in orange powder.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak branded the protest a “disgraceful act of vandalism”, even though the substance used was cornflour that would wash away in the rain.

Built in stages between around 3000BC and 2300BC, Stonehenge is one of the world’s most important prehistoric megalithic monuments in terms of its size, sophisticated layout and architectural precision.

Protesters spray Stonehenge with orange powder paint on June 19, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Unesco World Heritage status can help boost tourism to an area or country, but it comes with obligations to protect the site.

The port city of Liverpool, in northwest England, lost its World Heritage status for its docks in 2021 after Unesco experts concluded that new real-estate developments in the city had taken too much of a toll on its historical fabric.

Additional reporting by staff reporter

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