Author Archives: Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

What Next for the Stonehenge Tunnel Scheme?

Posted on: March 11, 2024 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

Stonehenge has been a permanent feature and place-marker on the landscape in Wiltshire for thousands of years. It has also a been a semi-permanent feature of headlines and as a topic on this blog. However this may soon no longer be the case, as  Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS) have had their application for […]

The Heritage Decision Lottery: Stonehenge and the M&S building

Posted on: August 14, 2023 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

The month of July saw two opposing planning decisions being made with one thing in common: their subject and focus being designated heritage assets; Stonehenge and the proposed tunnel within its vicinity and the Marks and Spencer building on Oxford Street, London. Both of them highlight the complexity of dealing with heritage assets within the […]

The Everyday Deserves Protecting

Posted on: May 9, 2023 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

Any mention of a shipwreck being found immediately conjures up the wildest possible imaginings in most people’s minds – treasure chests full of gold, pearl necklaces, stone studded jewels and other magnificent objects. Alongside the treasure, our imaginations are also filled with scenes of uninhabited islands in the Caribbean with white sand, turquoise water and […]

A room with a view… The Tate Modern’s viewing platform

Posted on: February 27, 2023 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

The Supreme Court stunned all those who have been following the plight of the residents of Neo Bankside. The long-winded legal dispute (Fearn and others (Appellants) v Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery (Respondent) [2023] UKSC 4) started when the Tate Modern inaugurated its viewing platform on the Blavatnik Building in 2016 and it […]

Acquittal of the ‘Colston Four’ – jury gives verdict in statue toppling trial

Posted on: January 12, 2022 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

On Thursday 6 January, four defendants accused of illegally damaging the Grade II listed statue of Edward Colston in the UK port city of Bristol were found not guilty by their jury. For those not familiar with the story, it began with the toppling of the statue back in June 2020, during protests in the […]

Stonehenge tunnel decision goes back to Secretary of State following Judicial Review

Posted on: August 25, 2021 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

The judgment granting judicial review of the Secretary of State for Transport’s decision to grant the Development Consent Order (DCO) for the tunnel bypass to replace the A303 which runs past Stonehenge is relatively old news as this is written, having been handed down on 30th July. However, the question of Stonehenge and its bypass […]

Do statues need protecting? Government set to propose new measures

Posted on: January 18, 2021 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

Yesterday,  Sunday, 17 January 2021, the Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick announced his plans to introduce new legal protections for historic statues and plaques which will be presented to Parliament imminently. The aim of these new measures is for any change to such monuments to go through a system of approval, whether through listed building consent […]

Treasure, treasure everywhere – Government plans to update Treasure Act

Posted on: December 11, 2020 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

On Friday 2nd December 2020 it is likely that many archaeologists, curators and metal detectorists woke up pleased at the announcement from the Government that the definition of treasure for the Treasure Act 1996 will be revised. However, it is also equally probable that the same number were perplexed and worried as to how this […]

To tunnel or not to tunnel? Government grants permission for Stonehenge tunnel bypass

Posted on: November 23, 2020 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

On Thursday 12 November 2020, Secretary of State for Transport (SoS) Grant Shapps issued a letter granting permission for the construction of a dual carriageway two mile long tunnel that will reroute the existing A303 south of Stonehenge. The scheme is estimated to cost £1.7 billion. This road is the main link between south-east and […]

What is a listed building? The Supreme Court provides clarity

Posted on: June 4, 2020 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

The IAL has been closely following the case of Mr Dill and the two lead urns in its passage through the courts over the past two years. Mr Dill sold the urns in 2009 without knowing that they were individually listed and therefore their removal required listed building consent. Having lost at the High Court […]