Plans to build a new visitor centre, with its own rail link, at Stonehenge have been approved by councillors. English Heritage's original application was refused by Salisbury District Council amid fears a rail link would damage the environment. But after an appeal, planners approved the scheme with conditions. The development cannot start until the government has sanctioned improvements to the nearby A303, including a tunnel through the Wiltshire countryside.
Councillor Mike Hewitt said the plans had met with some opposition. "None of us like the application 100%, but it is the best we have got at the moment," he said. "The current visitor centre is not a good advertisement for the UK. It is cramped and there is nowhere to shelter from the rain. After all, it is a world heritage site, one of those things you are supposed to see before you die and if you went down there you'd wonder what we were expecting people to pay for."

Source: BBC News (11 July 2006)