Decision 45 COM 7B.62

Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) (C 373bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decisions 41 COM 7B.56, 42 COM 7B.32, 43 COM 7B.95 and 44 COM 7B.61 adopted at its 42nd (Manama, 2018), 43rd (Baku, 2019) and extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) sessions respectively,
3. Notes further progress with the revised management and governance arrangements, the Trust Transition Project, the implementation of the Avebury 2015 Transport Strategy, the forthcoming setting study and proposed Supplementary Planning Documents and future boundary review of the property, and the World Heritage Site Condition Survey, and requests the State Party to submit the draft setting study and the World Heritage Site Condition Survey to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
4. Welcomes the conservation works on the Stonehenge lintels and interpretation installations at West Kennet Long Barrow, Silbury Hill, the Sanctuary and Windmill Hill, also notes that the temporary education centre at Stonehenge does not affect attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, but that a proposal for new educational facilities has been subject to a Technical Review by ICOMOS, and requests the State Party to take into account the resulting recommendations and to advise the World Heritage Centre of the response to the Technical Review findings;
5. Commends the State Party for inviting the 2022 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Advisory mission to provide advice in the context of the redetermination of the Development Consent Order (DCO) of the proposed A303 road improvement scheme (Scheme) within the Stonehenge component of the property;
6. Notes and endorses the conclusions and recommendations of the 2022 Advisory mission, and urges the State Party to fully implement the mission’s recommendations;
7. Expresses profound regret that the Scheme has been granted a DCO without having been modified in accordance with previous Committee decisions and the recommendations of the 2022 mission;
8. Reiterates its previous request that the State Party not proceed with the implementation of the Scheme for the section between Amesbury and Berwick Down in its current form, and considers that the minimum change required must include an extension of the underground section of the western approach (in tunnel and/or cut-and-cover) to at least the western boundary of the property, with the western portal relocated as far west as reasonably practical, thereby reducing the length of the cut-and-cover section and minimising the extent of archaeological resources which must be removed, and the implementation of a comprehensive archaeological salvage and mitigation programme, consistent with best practice standards and approaches;
9. Further notes that the approved A303 road improvement scheme within the Stonehenge component of the property retains substantial dual carriageway sections exposed in cuttings, particularly those at the western end of the Stonehenge component of the property and that, at the present time, the A303 road improvement scheme, as approved by the DCO, constitutes a potential threat to the property, in conformity with Paragraph 179 of the Operational Guidelines, which, if implemented, would have deleterious impacts on the OUV of the property including its integrity, warranting inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger;
10. Taking note of the judicial review process following the DCO and the expected legal challenges, as well as the possibility that the proposed Scheme may be modified, requests the State Party to prepare a comprehensive information package on the proposed modifications to the Scheme conforming to the requests by the Committee in its decisions as well as in line with the recommendations of the 2022 Advisory mission, and to submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by 1 February 2024, and urges furthermore the State Party to consult with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, to ensure consistency in this regard and that all further decisions or actions to implement the Scheme in its current approved state are halted until the Committee has reviewed the comprehensive information package of proposed modifications at its 46th session;
11. Requests furthermore the State Party to prepare, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, a related set of corrective measures, which should include modifying the Scheme, consistent with the Committee’s decisions and informed by the recommendations of the 2022 Advisory mission, to deliver the best available outcome for the OUV of the property, for examination by the Committee at its 46th session;
12. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2024, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 46th session, considering that the absence of significant progress in modifying the Scheme consistent with the Committee’s decisions and in accordance with the recommendations of the 2022 Advisory mission, would require a broad mobilization to preserve the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, including the inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger.