England: Govrn't gives A-OK for Stonehenge hotel and gas station.

BBC News On Line ^ | Monday, 23 June, 2003 | staff writer

[yankeedame]

Monday, 23 June, 2003, 07:16 GMT 08:16 UK

Stonehenge hotel given go-ahead

Thousands of people visit Stonehenge every year Controversial plans to build a hotel on a greenfield site near Stonehenge have been given the go-ahead. Proposals to build the 120-room hotel three miles from the ancient stones sparked outrage from countryside campaigners.

But planning officials in Wiltshire decided to allow the development because of a lack of tourist accommodation within easy reach of the historic site.

The plans, which will swallow up a 160-acre area of countryside off the A303 near Amesbury, will also include a roadside service station.

Conservationists worried

Thousands of tourists from all over the world visit Stonehenge every year.

But for many, a lack of accommodation in the area means it is difficult to find somewhere to stay nearby.

Salisbury District Council wants to change this, and hopes the new hotel will go some way to improving the situation.

But their decision to approve the plan has angered conservationists, who say greenfield sites should not be built on.

[theFIRMbss]

"And -- oh! -- how they danced!
The little children of Stonehenge..."

[Thinkin' Gal]

But their decision to approve the plan has angered conservationists, who say greenfield sites should not be built on.

The conservationistas must really be outraged then, at the builders of Stonehenge.

[Cicero]

The British don't really know what to do with Stonehenge. It's a very small and vulnerable site for a place of such great importance. Fifty years ago it just sat there in the countryside and people visited it as they pleased. No one would have thought of damaging it. Now it's all fenced in and access is restricted by the government.

About fifty years ago I rode into Stonehenge on my bicycle, after having inspected the nearby chalk giant earlier that afternoon, and spent the night of the summer solstice on the grass in the middle of the stone ring in a sleeping bag. It was an interesting experience.

[strela]

I wonder if they'll have a model of Stonehenge in the lobby that is in imminent danger of being crushed by a dwarf?

[Kenton]

Personally, I won't be satisfied until McDonald's opens up a restaurant at the top of the Eiffel Tower....

[SunkenCiv]

A Blast from the Past.

Please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.

Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

[DeFault User]

Following on your comment on access to the site. I went there in 1978 and people were asked to keep to the walkways. One horizontal stone had already been defaced by graffiti. I returned twenty years later and you must walk outside a chain that's 50 ft. or more away.

It's a good drive from London and not much in accommodation is nearby.