THE "grave robbers", sorry archaeologists, have been back this summer, theorising and arguing over the whys and wherefores of Stonehenge, and our televisions focus on how marvellous the ancients were who created it.

But what of it now?

Well, after spending £37 million and taking 11 years over public consultation and inquiry, our Government, like a petulant child, ignored all the findings and dismissed with the stroke of a pen all plans for road improvements in and around Stonehenge and forced English Heritage, the Government's own watchdog looking after our national monuments, to begin anew with plans and public consultations.

You may be forgiven for a feeling of deja vu, for we have indeed been here before.

It has been described as "a step in the right direction…" by Robert Key, the Conservative MP for Salisbury. But I say it is a step backwards... back to square one.

The current situation all-round is a rip-off. The tourists are being ripped off, as the current visitor centre is a national disgrace.

What is supposed to be a World Heritage Site is served by temporary toilets and a prefab visitor centre that was temporary when it was built 40 years ago.

The locals are being ripped off, too. They are not getting their road improvements.

And anyone who thinks of Stonehenge as a sacred temple is being ripped off. Divorced from the sacred landscape, this once proud and majestic temple sits like a snared animal amid the tacky trappings of the 21st century.

So what now? More rounds of talking shops and the inevitable "gravy train" of jobs for the boys, with English Heritage doing all it can to turn Stonehenge into a third-rate theme park with a visitor centre, cafe and all the other franchises and marketing practices that this entails.

Perhaps it is time to return to the true spirit of the place.

Scholars will argue over who built it and when, whether it was the proto-Druids or members of a very different faith. But one thing remains certain. It was people of great faith who erected the mighty stones.

The logistics of such an operation, the transporting of the stones over such great distances, through the many domains of different tribal chieftains and peoples, would have needed enormous diplomatic skills and co-operation.

The fact that it is still a place of reverence to certain beliefs shows an unequalled continuity of faith in what was once and still could be the Isle of the Mighty.

Stonehenge was never a centre of commerce but of spirituality.

The need for a visitor centre has been brought about in recent times by the way English Heritage has marketed it so aggressively both at home and abroad.

Many people will remember when Stonehenge meant little more than a few ancient stones standing in the middle of Salisbury Plain. It should have been left like that.

In recent times, it has changed from a place of spirit to a place of confrontation over freedom of access for religious observances at the solstices and equinoxes.

These issues have been largely addressed, thanks to a little give and take on all sides, and a great amount of co-operation from all interested parties.

While so much has been said about returning Stonehenge to its natural environment, I see nothing natural about franchising out catering to multi-national hamburger companies or tunnelling under the stones.

Nor is it natural to surround it with fences and security. A far more natural environment would be to return it to the people, which works so well at nearby Avebury.

And don't listen to the heretics who tell you that it must be roped off to stop erosion and to protect the archaeology.

Erode what? The concrete they set them in? The archaeology they destroyed piecemeal when they gravelled it over?

No, Stonehenge should be free and open to the peoples it was left to. That's you and me, the peoples of this once green and pleasant land. Stonehenge is still regarded by people of many different faiths as a place of worship and spirit.

You cannot, nor should you wish to, put a price on spirituality. Stonehenge was designed as a meeting place for like-minded people at the four calendar events – the four days of the year that mark and celebrate the changing of the seasons.

We should not look to Stonehenge and think we can make it more attractive so that we can make more money out of it. We should think how it could enrich our lives spiritually.

Once we have done this we will see what is best for the stones and be able to continue in the spirit of those who first conceived of and erected them.

As someone who cares about spirituality, I am obviously disheartened at any proposals that put profit above sacred and religious observances.

When last I picketed Stonehenge it was in 1990, fighting the so-called "exclusion zone". From my point of view, that took 14 years, and culminated in a European Court case.

So what's changed? I'm still here, a little greyer perhaps. What has changed is that I became a druid, and as a druid I have got this lifetime, the next and the one after that if necessary.

So I say to "English Heretics": Pick up thy fence and walk. ■ Arthur Pendragon is a senior Druid and is a prospective independent Parliamentary candidate for Salisbury.