UNESCO Welcomes UK's Stonehenge Tunnel Cancellation

Paris: The United Nations' cultural organisation on Wednesday welcomed Britain's decision to cancel a controversial tunnel project near Stonehenge, a world heritage site.

The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves on Monday announced a number of "difficult" budget decisions, telling parliament that a few "unfunded" projects launched by the previous government would not go ahead under the Labour administration of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, including plans for a road tunnel close to Stonehenge, a renowned prehistoric site in England.

"UNESCO welcomes the Starmer government's decision to cancel the construction of a road tunnel under the Stonehenge World Heritage Site," the organisation's Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a social media post.

UNESCO last month warned that Stonehenge could be added to its world heritage in danger list because of the tunnel project.

Stonehenge has had UNESCO world heritage status since 1986.

Placement on the UN body's heritage in danger list is seen as a dishonour by some countries.

Last year, the former government of prime minister Rishi Sunak approved the construction of a road tunnel near Stonehenge despite efforts by campaigners to halt the £1.7 billion ($2.2 billion) project.

The tunnel was intended to ease congestion on an existing main road to southwest England that gets especially busy during the peak holiday periods, but experts had warned of "permanent, irreversible harm" to the area.

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

Built in stages between around 3,000 and 2,300 BCE, Stonehenge is one of the world's most important prehistoric megalithic monuments in terms of its size, sophisticated layout and architectural precision.

UNESCO runs a list of sites with World Heritage status around the world, a prestigious title that countries compete to bestow on their most famous natural and man-made locations.

A listing can help boost tourism -- 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.

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