Stonehenge EIA

Friday 30 April 2010

Client: English Heritage

Date: 2009 – on going

Value: £20,000

CL Voelcker in collaboration with Chris Blanford Associates were appointed to produce an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the planned redevelopment of the Visitor Centre at Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site – arguably the most significant in the UK.

The existing Visitor Centre is no longer considered appropriate for such a prestigious site and its close proximity to the monument detracts from the natural setting and historical environs of the monument.

Following the abandonment of a large scale proposal with major implications for the wider area a more modest, details of a more sustainable scheme are now being placed in the public arena which provides for the restoration of the old Visitor Centre site, the development of a moderately sized replacement and changes to the current road layout, in particular to remove the route immediately adjacent to the monument.

CL Voelcker have been examining a number of issues including land, water and air quality as well as aspects of noise and vibration. We have provided feedback to the design process particularly in respect of water quality issues – looking at the environmental capacity of both the surface and groundwater systems to accept inputs from the new Visitor Centre and reviewing the sustainable characteristics of the alternatives.

The result of our work will be to:

• Document the potential impacts
• Identify suitable mitigating measures which reflect the sensitivities of the surrounding landscape and setting of the monument
• Determine the extent of any residual impacts (after the mitigating measures have been deployed)
  

The work is being carried out in collaboration with many parties in accordance with a rigorous timetable required by English Heritage which has meant many aspects of the work which would usually be sequential are being executed simultaneously. As might be expected, this puts a great deal of emphasis on effective communication between all parties.

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