Remember, Remember the 18th December...

...when the new Stonehenge Visitors Centre is formally opened. It would be wonderful if we could swamp the World Heritage Site (WHS), on the day, with lots of folks wanting to use the event to draw attention to the problems the WHS causes, by its impact on traffic flows in the area for local residents, travellers and business-folk alike.  If it wasn't for the WHS, it is likely that the A303 would have been dualled decades ago - and as for the A344 - don't go there.

  A few posts back, we told you which local residents were entitled to the free Stonehenge Local Residents and we estimated that could be around 30,000 of you, give or take a few.  We also warned that Amesbury Library, the only place we know of that issues these cards, was running low.

STAG reports today that the library were out of cards on 1 November and a follow-up phone call to them today (5th November) suggested they had been told by English Heritage to expect a new supply in the next week.  This is something we need to keep a close eye on.  As the originator of this report observed, a cynic might think the lack of cards was an English Heritage ploy to keep locals at bay on opening day.

It is worth noting, however, that nowhere in the original deed of gift by Cecil Chubb was any mention made of English Heritage or the need to have a printed pass on a piece of cardboard.  The only condition needed for entry is to live in one of relevant villages.  We would assume that simply having proof of residency in one of these would be sufficient to comply with the conditions of the deed of gift and gain free entry on the gate.  We are sure that English Heritage won't like this suggestion as it might cause a bit of discontent with the paying customers, but that's a deed of gift for you...

Stagman - The Birth of Your Everyday Super Hero

Well, what a day Friday turned out to be.  STAG operatives were racing around the rat-runs of south Wiltshire getting the lost, confused, re-routed or merely befuddled to sign up to the Stonehenge Traffic Action Group petition when they noticed something going on.  If the truth be told, they were actually progressing at the pace of a super-annuated, arthritic snail, in the vicinity of the Salisbury road north from Amesbury towards its junction with the A3028 Double Hedges road in Bulford, when one of our more active supporters noticed the traffic was moving slower even than he was.

The A303 was at its usual Friday best - allowing plenty of time for casual photos,

 The A345 through Amesbury was backed up from the Countess Roundabout who knows how far back south.  I do hope some of these poor unfortunates took time out from the jam to pop in to see our friends at One Brown Cow (and NO, we are not on commission from them - we just feel that one good turn deserves another!)

 More and more traffic was opting to leave the A303 and try and head north up the Salisbury Road, then to cut back west through Larkhill and Shrewton...

 ...but it was going nowhere fast.

Our budding superhero - for that is what he was to become(at least in the eyes of the disgruntled motorists, bus-drivers and others stuck on the hill) decided to find out what on earth had snarled up yet another road around Stonehenge.    This time, it turned out to be a set of 4-way traffic lights at the end of Stonehenge Road.  They were ostensibly there to ensure safe passage around the road works EXCEPT, in true British fashion, there was little evidence of road work, no road works in progress and no road workers in sight.  In fact, there was little evidence that anyone had done anything other than erect the traffic light (I'd been through earlier in the week and there was bugger-all evidence of anything going on then either!)

It was then our superhero, let's call him STAGMAN, leapt into action (Err, those who have met him, know that leaping isn't quite his forte, but hell, I'm telling the story and you've got to have a stag that leaps - right!).

He contacted Wiltshire Constabulary, nice chaps and as it turns out, chaps who, just like Stagman, have an abundance of common sense.  "Nous" is what what we call it in Lancashire - a rare commodity there or anywhere else,; but there was a lot of it around on Friday.  Stagman explained the problem, the police listened, Stagman suggested a course of action and the police did not disagree.
So Stagman - took down the traffic lights, removed the roadworks - just like that.  Within a few short minutes...

 ...all the traffic jam had gone - and Stagman could relax; a job well done.

So to anyone who might think STAG and WiSBAng are just a lot of hot air - carry on, think what you will, but Stagman demonstrated on Friday that we are practically-minded as well and will get things done.

As for Stagman, well who knows.  We tried to get a photo of him on Friday and failed.  He promised one yesterday, but think he was teasing us.   Then, we heard rumours that he was taking this super hero stuff all very seriously and had gone out and got himself a costume - as that is what all super heroes do.   We despatched our trusty photographer to Shrewton this morning and managed to snap the following from a hedgerow in one of the brighter interludes between rain showers:

We thought the beard was an especially nice touch - and using the road-kill fox to make it was absolutely inspired.  We would have shown you a full body shot except this blog is rated for under 18s.  Let's just say he wasn't wearing a suit...


...but those who have been round the Longbarrow Roundabout this morning will have noticed the festering badger has disappeared.

If anyone manages to get a better photo of Stagman, preferably in action, before Christmas, there is a nice bottle of wine on offer!

SH2 - A Proposal For A Very Northerly Route

It is very easy for us to sit here and complain about the problems caused by the lack of dualling of the A303, the lack of bypasses, the idiocy of various bodies - the Highways Agency, the Department for Transport and Wiltshire Council - in closing the A344 before the A303 problems were resolved, despite the excellent advice they were given, in order to pander to the demands of English Heritage and the Stonehenge World Heritage Site.

It is very easy, because they have set themselves up as such easy targets for ridicule and derision - and they will be duly ridiculed and derided. 

However, whilst we must be resolute in learning the lessons of the past, we need to look to the future and ask ourselves how might the problem be solved.  So what is it we want to achieve exactly?  Well, here at WiSBAng, we would offer the following list of key points:

- Dual the entire length of the A303 (and the A358 and A30 to Penzance)
- Bypass villages such as Winterbourne Stoke
- Remove the A303 from the Stonehenge World Heritage Site sight-line
- Minimising the need to damage virgin farmland
- Minimising the cost
- In doing all of the above, eliminating rat-running through local villages.

However, we need to look at some of the limiting factors:

- The location of the World Heritage Site itself
- The location of Parsonage Down site
- The high cost of stuffing the A303 in a tunnel
- The unsuitability of the WHS geology for stuffing the A303 in a tunnel.

There are a few other factors that need to be borne in mind.

-The Armed Forces are retrenching to Wiltshire from Germany and are planning to accommodate a further 3,500-4,000 people, including families, at Larkhill, but:
- The Armed Forces have reduced massively in size since the heyday of activity in the Salisbury Plain training area;
- Not all of the Salisbury Plain Training Area is in use all of the time - so, very simplistically, it can't all be needed.
- The land occupied by the Salisbury Plain Training Area is already in government ownership or leasehold.
- The military population is largely transient - they come, they are posted, they go.
- Whatever route west is taken for the A303 - it is going to destroy/damage some archaeology.
- Most routes that have been proposed to date go through virgin countryside, or go so far south that they will start to have undesirable adverse impacts on the traffic flow in and around Salisbury.
- Whatever route west is taken, it will require some virgin countryside.
- Much of the virgin countryside that would need to be sacrificed to reroute the A303, especially on the routes previously proposed, is owned by rich and influential individuals who can be expected to object a wee bit.
- The Green lobby might also object a little - think 'Winchester Bypass.'

So, is there a route that could possibly deal with all, or most of the above?  We think so, and here it is:

 Just click on the picture to see the enlarged view.  Basically, the proposed route leaves the current A303 at the Parkhouse Roundabout, cuts northwest into MoD land and then heads due west, north of Bulford and Larkhill.  It then continues westwards until it reaches a point on the A360, roughly equidistant between Shrewton and Tilshead, before cutting back to the south west to rejoin the A303 at the Wylye junction.  As I write, I can hear the wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth in MoD - it's going to mess up the small-arms- ranges between Bulford and Tidworth and cut the two camps apart - but there is a helluva lot of training area and rifle/grenade ranges can be resited - how hard is it to build a berm?  Then think of the benefits to MoD - most civilian traffic could be removed from Larkhill - benefiting the newly returned families and making a much clearer distinction between the living area and the training area. Unexploded ordnance along the route- well, there's bound to be some, but what a wonderful training opportunity. 

There is one other huge benefit in going this far north, and that is the possibility of joining into the A36 at Knook Camp, close to the Warminster bypass - and possibly providing some relief to the A36 villages - at least from traffic travelling to or from the east of England.  Like this:

OK, it's far from ideal, but it is the route which requires the minimum purchase of undeveloped countryside and achieves just about everyone's desired outcomes.  The A303 proposal turns a 14.4 mile section of road into one 17 miles long - adding less than 3 minutes to the journey time.  Compare that with the 1-3 hours that 14 mile stretch has taken this summer.

Let the cries of outrage begin!