Stonehenge to be given a facelift
11th July 2012
Construction work will begin this month to improve the setting, accessibility and facilities of the Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire, England
The World Heritage Site has come under criticism due to the close proximity of the A303 and A344, “overcrowded” car parks at peak times of the year and an “inadequate” visitor centre.
Stonehenge welcomes more than a million visitors every year, famous for the mystery behind when, why, and how they were erected. And yet the current visitor centre is a temporary building constructed in 1968; basic and with no space for education or exhibitions. Busy roads cut the stones off from surrounding monuments, which some say ruins the landscape and intrudes on the monument.
Plans for the area include the closure of the A344, part of which will be grassed over, a new “energy-efficient” visitor centre with a shop, cafe, education space and galleries, and a new coach and car park.
The centre and car parks will also both be moved to a location slightly further away from the stones, so as to not intrude on the monument and surrounding landscape. Nearby facilities will be as basic and well-concealed as possible, and where possible made from local and sustainable materials.
There will also be a low-key shuttle service available, where visitors have the option of walking all, or some, of the way to the stones. The project, spearheaded by English Heritage, who manage the monument, is to cost £27 million; a “transformed” landscape is promised.
It's the official start,” said Renee Folk of English Heritage. “Things are finally getting done.”
The hope is to allow visitors to enjoy the monument with less traffic intrusion, better visitor facilities, “greater access to the wider landscape” and “the museum-quality interpretation that it deserves”.
Measures will be taken to limit the affect of the closure of the A344. The new car park will provide 500 car parking spaces and 30 coach parking spaces, in contrast with the current car park which offers spaces for eight coaches and 130 cars.
The A344 will be closing in April 2013 and the new visitor centre to open in autumn 2013, and the areas of the old buildings returned to grass. The monument itself will remain open during this time, and all development works are scheduled to be complete by summer 2014. See here for more information on visiting the site.
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