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Turning the A358 into a dual carriageway will cause minimal damage to the environment. By contrast, upgrading the A303 will involve the creation of a corridor one third of a mile wide across an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This alone is enough to make any idea of dualling the A303 simply unthinkable.
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According to English Nature – the statutory body charged with the conservation and enhancement of the wildlife and natural features of England.
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it is "certain that any proposal to upgrade the A303 to a dual carriageway will irretrievably damage the environment of the Blackdown Hills and the wildlife that depends on it. The environmental impacts of the alternative A358 are minor by comparison."
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If the A303 were to be dualled instead of the A358 the environmental impact would be disastrous.
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The present line of the A303 passes:
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- through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on the Blackdown Hills
- through an area of major ecological importance
- close to two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)
- close to three County Wildlife Sites
- across two river valleys
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… and Government policy is that major trunk roads should not be built through Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
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To raise the A303 to dual carriageway, trunk road standard would:
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- endanger the habitat of fifteen butterfly species
- adversely affect wildlife such as dormice
- destroy rare grassland habitats
- disrupt water supplies
- silt up rivers and watercourses
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English Nature says: “It is our view that a dual carriageway through the Blackdown Hills will cause serious and permanent ecological damage to an area of high biodiversity and therefore represents an unsustainable solution, which contradicts current Government policy. The A358 should therefore be the chosen route.”
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