Residents of a traffic-blighted village close to where a now-cancelled tunnel would have been constructed near Stonehenge have talked of their concerns over the project’s cancellation and say they are “back to square one”.

The two-mile tunnel, which would have cost £2bn, was cancelled by the government after a spending review. Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the Commons last week that the Transport Secretary had agreed not to “move forward” with the project.

According to the BBC, Shrewton resident Sharon Paterson, who has lived in the village for 27 years, said there were now “a limited number of options for getting anywhere from this village”.

Planning permission for the tunnel, which was backed by Wiltshire Council and involved overhauling eight miles (12.8km) of the A303, was first approved in November 2020 – despite Planning Inspectorate officials saying it would cause “permanent, irreversible harm” to the area.

However, National Highways said the tunnel would have reduced journey times, eased traffic problems and removed the road from the view of the landscape.

The plan has been controversial with locals spilt on the issue and there has been international interest, with UNESCO raising concerns about the World Heritage Site.

Ms Paterson added living in Shrewton was a strange experience with villagers able to leave easily one way – but not another.

“It is like being in the Bermuda Triangle, because if you want to go shopping somewhere it’s probably easier to go to Warminster than it is to go east to Amesbury and Salisbury,” she said. “Salisbury would be a very good place to go, other than the fact it’s very hard to cross the A303 now.”

Another resident, Helen Woods, who has lived in Shrewton most of her life, said the traffic has “easily” got “10 times” worse in her time there.

“As locals we had a few rat runs which the public didn’t know about, but now they’ve closed them we’re all pushed onto the A303.”

She added that traffic often goes “a mile out of the village – and sometimes… two miles.”