CAMPAIGNERS are fighting plans to divert a major dual carriageway through pristine countryside between two villages.

Highways England has been consulting on whether to bypass Winterbourne Stoke to the north or the south as part of plans to put the A303 though a 1.8-mile tunnel as it passes Stonehenge.

Amid concerns about damaging ancient burial grounds, campaigners say the authority appears to have forgotten the “legacy of the living”.

They say the consultation appears biased toward the southern route, which would see a “mile-a-minute expressway” cut through the “tight community” of Berwick St James and Winterbourne Stoke and “destroy local ecology”.

And the rights of local people and businesses, as well as the “disfigurement of the countryside”, are being overridden by the desire to deliver an expressway to the South West “at any price”, say campaigners.

They say the consultation lacks scientific details on the impact of air, noise and light pollution, damage to wildlife, loss of paths and bridleways and visual landscaping, making it impossible for the public to make an informed choice.

And they say the concept of a southern bypass emerged without warning, unlike the northern bypass, which was announced in 2003.

Carolyn MacDougall, spokesman for the Campaign for the Preservation of the Southern Till Valley, said: “How will the feedback from the two most affected villages be given the necessary weight to determine the outcome of an issue which will potentially change a way of life and determine a legacy for many living generations to follow?”

The campaign group aims to gather “irrefutable scientific data” to support an improved northern bypass option, while highlighting flaws of the southern alternative.

Wiltshire councillor for the area Ian West said choosing the southern option would be “absolutely horrendous” and “a real disaster” for the countryside.

He said he favoured the northern route, but the proposed new roundabout would be too close to Winterbourne Stoke and the road would be too high off the ground. He questioned whether this was an attempt to get rid of the spoil from the tunnel.

A spokesman for Highways England said: “Public consultation is taking place for everyone to have their say on the A303 Stonehenge scheme and we will take into consideration all views on the proposals.”