Day: July 5, 2018

Taking on feedback from a consultation earlier this year Highways England has adjusted some of the design detail of the planned £1.6 billion scheme which will improve journeys on the busy route and create a much-needed bypass for Winterbourne Stoke while preserving the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site.

The changes, which seek to further enhance the famous landscape and reconnect the two halves of the 6,500-acre World Heritage site (WHS), include:

• removing the previously proposed link between Byways 11 and 12 in the Stonehenge WHS to avoid affecting the setting of the Normanton Down barrow group and tranquillity of the site in this area
• widening the green bridge proposed near the existing Longbarrow roundabout to improve the physical and visual connection between the northern and southern parts of the WHS
• moving the proposed modification of Rollestone crossroads to provide a more compact layout

Derek Parody, Highways England Project Director for the A303 Stonehenge scheme, said:

We had a great response to our earlier consultation and have acted on the feedback. We now want to get people’s views on our proposed changes to our original consultation.

The further feedback we get will allow us to make sure we have got the best scheme before we make our application later this year to build the scheme.

Meanwhile we continue to work with heritage groups including Historic England, English Heritage, the National Trust, and experts in the field, including the Stonehenge Scientific Committee – a body of leading independent archaeologists – to ensure a new route is built sensitively to the World Heritage site.

Highways England received more than 5,000 responses to consultation on improving the A303 route past Stonehenge, between Amesbury and Berwick Down, which includes a tunnel at least 1.8 miles long, a free-flowing dual carriageway and a much-needed bypass north of Winterbourne Stoke.

As part of its £15 billion road strategy – the biggest investment in roads in a generation – the Government is committed to upgrading all remaining single carriageway sections of the A303/A358 between the M3 and M5 to dual carriageway standard.

The A303 at Stonehenge, the A303 between Sparkford and Ilchester, and the A358 between the M5 Taunton and the Southfields Roundabout on the A303 are the first three schemes in that strategy.

The A303 Stonehenge upgrade will deliver major benefits to the World Heritage Site by reuniting the landscape and restoring tranquillity to the setting of one of our most famous cultural icons. At the heart of many of Highways England’s proposed refinements to the scheme is the protection of the WHS and its Outstanding Universal Value.

The scheme will also support a major boost to the South West economy, currently lagging 24% behind the national economy, by providing an effective transport link, and reducing the traffic blight on local communities.

Further details of the proposed changes will be available during the supplementary consultation and in the meantime, anyone wanting further information on the scheme or anyone who wants to respond to the consultation can visit the scheme web page.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Today during National Democracy Week, the Minister for the Constitution, Chloe Smith, will be unveiling a new programme aimed at inspiring school-age young people in full time education to engage with democracy from an earlier stage.

The Democracy Ambassador’s scheme has been launched to tackle an imbalance in democratic engagement between the UK’s older and younger generations.

Research revealed by the most recent Hansard Society Audit of Political Engagement indicates that 18 to 34 year olds are much less likely to feel confident in their knowledge of politics than those who are 35 and above.

Only 39% of 18-24 year olds and 35% of 25-34 year olds claim to know at least a ‘fair amount’ on the subject.

The Democracy Ambassadors programme, will see 1,000 13-16 year olds recruited across the UK to inform their peers about our country’s democratic processes and promote participation. It is intended to increase school-age young people’s confidence on the subject, ahead of reaching voting age at 18. People can apply to register to vote at 16, with registration a first, vital step on the path to full democratic engagement. The programme will complement activity aimed at the same age group delivered in schools.

The scheme will be delivered in partnership with Young Citizens and target those who are less likely to be registered to vote when able, including those from disadvantaged and marginalised backgrounds. It is being announced as we celebrate the 90th anniversary of the 1928 Equal Franchise Act this week, which gave women equal voting rights.

Ambassadors training will include:

• educating them on how democracy works in England at both a national and local level
• equipping them with the skills to share this knowledge further
• a challenge to reach out to 100 of their peers and encourage

Young Citizens hosted a pilot session for Democracy Ambassadors yesterday to trial key components of the training scheme with a host of 13-16 year olds. Feedback will prove vital in making sure that the final programme meets the needs of the target audience when it’s rolled out across England later this year.

Minister for the Constitution, Chloe Smith said:

National Democracy Week is about inspiring, empowering and engaging people in democracy. School students in particular have told me they want the information and skills to be able to cast their votes when they become adults.

The Democracy Ambassadors scheme has been designed for this age-group as they head towards voting age, to build a legacy of engaged future citizens.

CEO of Young Citizens, Tom Franklin, said:

For nearly thirty years Young Citizens has been championing the importance of young people’s democratic participation. Young people are not apathetic to politics, they just need to be given opportunities and encouragement to get involved.

Through Democracy Ambassadors we hope some of our youngest citizens can boost their understanding of how our democracy works and give their peers the confidence to get informed and involved locally on the issues they feel passionately about.