A303 is back on the political agenda

I have been very engaged with this issue, touring longstanding and new bottlenecks with a member of Amesbury Town Council, meeting with Stonehenge Traffic Action Group members in Shrewton and travelling to County Hall to discuss it with the most senior Highways Officer in Wiltshire.

It is cause for optimism that the A303 is once again recognised as a national infrastructure project deserving of investment. I raised the matter in Parliament last week and was assured that the Department of Transport is aware of the problem and is studying options with a view to reporting back by the end of the year.

My challenge now is to go head-to-head with those who represent Somerset and make the case for our stretch to be prioritised over theirs.

To that end, I am pleased to have secured the roads minister’s agreement to meet with local campaigners and I have arranged for the Minister to visit so that he can see the problems for himself.

Much as I and my many correspondents may wish to place the practical needs of the communities along the A303 first and foremost, I also have to accept the political reality that the stretch of the road in this constituency runs through a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Any road widening or tunnelling here will provoke far more international scrutiny and greater likelihood of legal challenge than almost anywhere else. I have spoken to dozens of people, all vehemently in agreement that something must be done to increase the capacity of the A303 near Stonehenge.

However, every single one of them proposes a different “hassle- free” solution to the problem.

Nevertheless, it is clear to me that our need for improved traffic flow is every bit as urgent as other areas and I plan to make the case that no money must be spent on the “easy”

projects further west until Stonehenge is resolved.

I am in no way negative about the battle that lies ahead – on the contrary.

However, I do think it is important to accept that a complex debate lies ahead. Doing so will equip us to answer the questions and challenges we will certainly face.

In the meantime, there are immediate issues the council has agreed to look into at my request. Current roadside signs conflict with sat nav directions, causing many tourists to shuttle needlessly back and forth between Countess and Longbarrow roundabouts. Giving first time visitors the confidence to ignore their sat navs will make a small but worthwhile difference and is something that can hopefully be done fairly quickly to ease the pain of those who have to negotiate the A303 every day.