Your trusted source

Stonehenge could be the next historical UK site to lose its UNESCO World Heritage status.

The UN’s heritage body has told ministers that the ancient monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, is at risk of being put on the “danger list” and stripped of its world heritage status, The Independent reported, citing The Guardian.

The warning comes after transport secretary Grant Shapps gave the green light for plans to build a dual carriageway tunnel under the landscape, costing £1.7bn, to go ahead.

Highways England proposed the plans to improve traffic flow along the A303 in Wiltshire, the most direct route for motorists travelling between the South East and South West.

Planning Inspectorate officials warned the development could cause “permanent, irreversible harm” to the site.

Campaigners pushed back on the decision, including Senior druid Arthur Uther Pendragon, but the Department for Transport (DfT) said that the benefits of the scheme outweighed the potential harm.

It comes after Liverpool this week became the first UK heritage site to lose its status. The UN’s heritage body said it was removing the city’s historic waterfront from the list – which includes sites such as the Taj Mahal, Venice and the Great Wall of China – because its “outstanding universal value” had been compromised by new and proposed buildings, including Everton football club’s new £500m stadium.