Pagan Federation: Stonehenge Statement

A303 Stonehenge road proposals

Pagan Federation objection

The Pagan Federation, founded in 1971, represents the interests of Britain's Pagan community and campaigns on Pagan issues. Because Stonehenge is regarded as an especially sacred place its future is of great interest to Pagans and the Pagan Federation.

The Pagan Federation's view has always been that this internationally important monument deserves the best possible setting and the ancient landscape within which it is set should be cared for in the best possible way to secure its future. The PF supports the aims and objectives of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site Management Plan, at the heart of which is the principle that the whole archaeological (and spiritual) landscape of the WHS should be conserved and protected. The WHS was designated because of the richness of sites throughout the area, not just beside Stonehenge itself. The PF was strongly opposed to the original proposal of a short cut-and-cover tunnel for the A303 past Stonehenge. This was seen as being a cut-price solution, which would cause great destruction and further divide the western half of the World Heritage Site. Although the PF welcomes the adoption of a bored method of tunnel construction rather than cut-and-cover, the proposals overall are still unacceptable and far from being the best outcome for Stonehenge and the World Heritage Site as a whole.

The PF supported the view reached at the Highways Agency's A303 Planning Conference in 1995 that the only satisfactory solution was a long bored tunnel across the full width of the World Heritage Site. It seems extraordinary that this broad consensus should have been abandoned for an unpopular and unsatisfactory alternative.

The Pagan Federation believes Planning Policy Guidance note 16 is being ignored solely for financial reasons and that the current proposals are largely driven by highway concerns.

The summary version of PPG 16 says "Archaeological remains are irreplaceable. They are evidence - for prehistoric periods, the only evidence - of the past development of our civilisation."

This is most certainly true of Stonehenge. The English Heritage discussion document, "Sustaining the Historic Environment", acknowledged that heritage owes its present value and significance to people's perceptions and opinions, beliefs and values, although it failed to recognise the spiritual and religious values ancient sites and landscapes have for some. For the Pagan community the Stonehenge World Heritage site is a very precious piece of spiritual and religious heritage—not least because it is an extensive landscape of ancient features around, and related to, Stonehenge itself.

PPG 16 recognises that archaeological remains vary enormously in their state of preservation and in the extent of their appeal to the public. Parts of the Stonehenge landscape have been adversely affected by agriculture, but this is still a unique landscape with many obvious remaining features and is of course of huge appeal to the public in general and Pagans in particular.

PPG 16 states that "archaeological remains should be seen as a finite, and non-renewable resource, in many cases highly fragile and vulnerable to damage and destruction. Appropriate management is therefore essential to ensure that they survive in good condition. They are part of our sense of national identity and are valuable both for their own sake and for their role in education, leisure and tourism."

The Stonehenge WHS Management Plan aims to protect and care for Stonehenge and the ancient landscape within which it is set as a whole. The Stonehenge Master Plan has lost sight of this fundamental principle and is in conflict with the Management Plan, which is the pre-eminent document. In caring for our heritage we are working to keep the past in sight, to keep a sense of belonging and to maintain local and national identities. In part we are caring for our working and living environment, but for a significant minority, conservation of these sites is also about caring for and working with sites which are a link to Britain's pre-Christian religions, as interpreted by contemporary Pagans and others following a spiritual path in which ancient monuments and landscapes play a part.

The Stonehenge World Heritage Site was designated because it is a unique ancient landscape, but it is also a finite and non-renewable resource, highly fragile and vulnerable to damage and destruction. It was designated at least in part to protect it from damage and destruction. A great part of its value lies in its overall integrity as an assemblage of linked monuments. The current road proposals only seem to value sites and their integrity as a linked landscape over only about half the WHS. This is an arbitrary view and is conflict with PPG 16.

The Pagan Federation objects to the proposals in the draft Road Orders and the Compulsory Purchase Order for the Highways Agency's A303 (Stonehenge Improvement) scheme. It believes that they are contrary to the principles of the Management Plan. The PF strongly agrees with the concerns about the current proposals raised by both ICOMOS and the National Trust.

PPG 16 says, "With the many demands of modern society, it is not always feasible to

save all archaeological remains. The key question is where and how to strike the right balance. Where nationally important archaeological remains, whether scheduled or not, and their settings, are affected by proposed development there should be a presumption in favour of their physical preservation."

The landscape around Stonehenge is nationally, and internationally, important. The setting of Stonehenge itself has been recognised as being of worldwide importance and it should be treated as such. There should be a presumption in favour of the physical preservation of all remains, both known and visible at surface and presently undiscovered.

PPG 16 says that, "Detailed development plans should include policies for the protection, enhancement and preservation of sites of archaeological interest and of their settings." The current road proposals at Stonehenge seem to be driven by highways concerns and financial considerations with scant concern "for the protection, enhancement and preservation of sites of archaeological interest and of their settings".

PPG 16 also says, "Archaeological remains identified and scheduled as being of national importance should normally be earmarked in development plans for preservation.

English Heritage has expressed a clear wish for principles of sustainability to be built in to any development which might affect the historic environment. Its discussion document referred to above lists key principles of sustainability.

1. Developing stronger understanding of the historic environment, and promoting wide awareness of its role in modern life.

   The current proposals will make this far more difficult over the western half of the WHS, though improving the eastern half.

2. Taking a long-term view of our actions.

   The current proposals appear to be being driven by a short-term highways considerations without proper regard to the long-term potential for reuniting the whole WHS.

3. Looking at the environment as a whole.

   The current proposals only seem to vale half the WHS, which is hardly looking at the environment as a whole.

4. Keeping our activities at levels which do not permanently damage the historic environment.

   Clearly the current proposals will damage the historic environment to an unacceptable degree. It may be argued that the geophysical survey carried out in the proposed road corridor through the eastern half of the WHS has found few archaeological features. However this appear to be due to poor design of the survey because it is very likely to have failed to adequately record post-holes and similar features which would be expected for this period and area. The current proposals would complexly destroy all archaeological features within a wide corridor over half the width of the WHS.

5. Ensuring that decisions about the historic environment are made on the best possible information.

   The geophysical survey appears to have been poorly designed. The provisions of the Stonehenge WHS Management Plan, the document written specifically to guide the future of this site, have been disregarded.

There is a need to look at the Stonehenge landscape as a whole, whilst recognising the special character of Stonehenge itself. There needs to be a clear recognition of the value of this historic landscape as an assemblage of elements with a synergistic increase in value because of their typicality, diversity or extent. There is also a need to make sure that the more ordinary features in a landscape are properly valued for their contribution to local distinctiveness. Just because some features are relatively common in some areas does not necessarily reduce their significance. Equally a focus on the finest historic assets is an incomplete approach to sustainability.

The English Heritage discussion document lists various heritage values. Surprisingly, there is no mention of spiritual and religious values of the historic environment. This is a serious omission and must be corrected in the attitudes of all those who own or are responsible for the historic environment. The historic environment plays a very significant part in the spiritual and religious life of many people. Increasingly the past and its remains are a vital part of the everyday life of a growing minority of the public. Use of the historic environment in connection with spiritual and religious values is a significant factor in their conservation.

Sustainability is a continuing process for achieving a healthy and viable historic environment, which aims to balance the old and the new. Whilst we should not be afraid of creating tomorrows historic environment we must recognise that ancient landscape cannot be recreated in the same way that ancient habitats can also not be recreated. A sustainable approach, taking into account spiritual and religious values, is the only way to successfully achieve a balance between the desirability of preserving the historic environment and allowing expression of contemporary needs, without reducing the choices available to future generations. The current proposals for Stonehenge are not sustainable in that they do not achieve an acceptable balance between contemporary needs and the world-wide value of this important landscape.