Stonehenge Paul Holmes To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the likely impact of the shortlisted options for the A303 at Stonehenge in the first year after their construction on (a) visitor numbers and (b) income generated from visitors to Stonehenge. Mr. Lammy The specific impact of each A303 option on commercial performance at Stonehenge has not been modelled. However, should English Heritage's plans for a new visitor centre and access arrangements at Stonehenge go ahead, along with the published scheme for improvements to the A303, it is estimated that visitor numbers are likely to stay the same as at present. Any increase in visitor spending is likely to be balanced by the cost of operating the new facilities. Paul Holmes To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much income has been generated from visitors to Stonehenge in each year since 1997. Mr. Lammy The net income (not profit) generated from visitors to Stonehenge in each year since 1997 is as follows: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |£ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1996-97 |3,156,883 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1997-98 |3,310,350 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1998-99 |3,755,389 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1999-2000 |4,036,315 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2000-01 |13,827,769| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2001-02 |13,554,282| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2002-03 |3,854,550 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2003-04 |4,260,664 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004-05 |4,669,575 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005-06 |4,794,121 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1 Decline in income in years 2000-01 and 2001-02 reflects the decline in visitors during the foot and mouth crisis and the aftermath of 9/11.| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Holmes To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the number of visitors to heritage sites in the vicinity of Stonehenge in each year since 1997. Mr. Lammy The only English Heritage site in the vicinity of Stonehenge is Old Sarum. Other key sites in the area are Salisbury Cathedral and Wilton House. The visitor figures from 1997 for Old Sarum and Salisbury Cathedral are given in the table. Visitor figures for Wilton House will follow shortly: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | |Old Sarum|Salisbury Cathedral1| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |1996-97 |80,390 |340,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |1997-98 |76,372 |338,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |1998-99 |80,691 |332,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |1999-2000 |81,378 |331,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2000-01 |75,921 |313,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2001-02 |70,868 |262,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2002-03 |65,818 |263,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2003-04 |58,299 |244,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2004-05 |53,977 |271,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2005-06 |48,637 |268,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |1 Salisbury Cathedral does not charge entry fees, therefore figures are approximate and do not include people attending services, concerts or visiting the Close generally.| | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Paul Holmes To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the likely effect on the number of visitors to heritage sites in the vicinity of Stonehenge of each of the shortlisted options for the A303 at Stonehenge in the first year after construction. Mr. Lammy Visitor number projections resulting from the construction of any of the shortlisted options for the A303 are not available. However, South West Tourism has identified Stonehenge and Salisbury as a key destination for regional tourism. Should the published road scheme be approved, it will enable English Heritage to make major improvements to the visitor experience at Stonehenge, encourage a longer stay in the region and potentially benefit attractions such as Salisbury Cathedral and other local heritage sites and museums.