A legal challenge is set to commence with the aim of overturning the approval granted for a road tunnel near Stonehenge.
The £1.7bn, two-mile tunnel from Amesbury to Berwick Down in Wiltshire was authorised by the Department for Transport last year.
The Conservative government signed off on the eight-mile scheme to transform the A303 and so far £160m has been spent despite groundwork having not yet started.
Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site, a conservation group, has tabled the legal challenge which is set to be heard this week after their last efforts were rebuffed.
John Adams, from the group, told the BBC: “[Cancelling the project] would spare our international blushes and rebuild this country’s reputation for looking after its heritage.”
He has also appealed to Sir Keir Starmer to block the scheme, which was agreed by former transport secretary Mark Harper.
"I think the current plan is evidence of how long infrastructure projects take under this government… we've got to change that," Sir Keir said last year, while in opposition.
"We'll have to wait for the court hearing, but then we'll review after that," he added.
The tunnel has been mooted since the Nineties but it may still never be built.
Here is the back story.
Why did the Conservative Government approve a tunnel at Stonehenge?
Highways England stated that it intended to construct the tunnel in order to shorten travel times and lessen traffic on the A303.
It was tabled in 2013 and follows a failed proposal from 1995 and 2005.
The plan, which has the support of Wiltshire Council, entails renovating eight miles of the main route that connects south-west England and London.
The scheme was given the go ahead in 2017 and then government approval in 2020.
Legal challenges have continued in the meantime, which have delayed the start date, and the latest version was approved by then transport secretary Mark Harper in 2023.
This could still now be contended with the legal challenge and change in government.
Why has there been opposition to the tunnel?
Stonehenge might lose its World Heritage Site classification completely and be added to the UN's "in danger" list if the tunnel project proceeds, as previously cautioned by Unesco, the group responsible for safeguarding world cultural property.
Critics also argue it will be expensive. The Government puts the cost at £1.7bn, but the campaigners predict it will be £2.5bn.
Mr Harper stated in a 64-page statement that the project's "harm on spatial, visual relations and settings is less than substantial and should be weighed against the public benefits" and that he was "satisfied there is a clear need" for the new tunnel.
He acknowledged that "he must give great weight to the conservation" of the Unesco World Heritage Site and acknowledged that "there will be harm as a result of the development to cultural heritage and the historic environment".
