A Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed the scores of millions spent on the recently axed Stonehenge Tunnel scheme as a result of the intensive planning and preparation process.
In the summer, the BBC reported that a previous FOI request to National Highways showed the total planning spend up to the end of May was £166,230,578.
A follow up request, which argued that 'the planning process is crippling the industry', asked for a breakdown of the costs.
National Highways has now released more detail and while the total does not exactly tally with the previous £166m figure, the FOI response does catalogue the vast amounts spent on the protracted planning and legal processes.
The costs reflect not just the complexity of the scheme and the sensitivity of the location and its history but also the fact that the project was heavily opposed by campaigners, who fought it at every step since planning permission was first approved in 2020.
National Highways gave the following breakdown:
Stage 1 – historical review of previous schemes, options identification, initial ecological and topographical surveys, ground investigation, liaison with stakeholders, public consultation and preferred route selection - cost £13,961,610.57
Stage 2 – preliminary scheme design, consultation with stakeholders and the public, ecological and topographical surveys, ground investigation, archaeological survey and evaluation, utility liaison - cost £33,665,750.29
statutory powers and processes: development and submission of planning documentation; engagement with planning and legal processes - cost £27,664,383.47
development of construction documentation, contract procurement - cost £37,017,120.52
Stage 3 – advanced site works: ground investigation; ecological and topographical surveys; ongoing archaeological evaluation; utility liaison, surveys, new supplies and diversion works; discharge of planning requirements - cost £52,457,822.59
Stage 4 – land costs, liaison with landowners, compensation for survey works - cost £1,463,890.72
