Supporting our Sites of outstanding global importance

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Ross Butler
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Lake District Royal Visit Hundreds of people came to see His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales as the guest of honour at a special community event on 26th March, to mark the Lake District as a

The long journey to World Heritage Site status was led by Lord Clark of Windermere, managed by the Lake District National Park Partnership and submitted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media

HRH The Prince of Wales meets the WHUK President The Prince of Wales attended the event at Crow Park, Keswick, and unveiled the official UNESCO plaque to mark the designation.

1 Lake District Royal Visit Hundreds of people came to see His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales as the guest of honour at a special community event on 26th March, to mark the Lake District as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The long journey to World Heritage Site status was led by Lord Clark of Windermere, managed by the Lake District National Park Partnership and submitted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Historic England. HRH The Prince of Wales meets the WHUK President The Prince of Wales attended the event at Crow Park, Keswick, and unveiled the official UNESCO plaque to mark the designation. The event was a celebration of the unique cultural landscape of the Lake District to which special guests and members of the community were invited to attend. Among these was World Heritage UK President, Chris Blandford, who explained the work of the organisation to the Prince of Wales, finding that the guest of honour fully understood the values that underpin the UK s World Heritage Sites, as well as the issues they face. Michael Ellis, the new Heritage Minister was also present. Next UK Conference UNESCO World Heritage Sites are the historic and natural wonders of the world and the jewels in the crown of any nation. The United Kingdom is blessed with 31 of them and each year, celebrates these gems with a conference. The theme for this year s event will be Setting the Scene for World Heritage, to take place at the Tower of London UNESCO World Heritage Site on the 8th and 9th October Many of our World Heritage Sites are facing management issues, not only from within their boundaries, but from external pressures beyond, which can be hard to control. Here, delegates will look at the setting in which a World Heritage Site exists, issues with buffer zones and examining how best to deal with Outstanding Universal Value in the margins. The conference will be delivered in association with Historic Royal Palaces and we expect to continue the success of previous years with an exciting programme of speakers and side events perhaps a boat trip on the River Thames or a behind-thescenes tour at the Tower of London. More detail and registration arrangements to follow this just to get the 8th and 9th October 2018 dates in your diary. Watch out for the event booking link! under new leadership Tony Crouch After nearly 3 years as World Heritage UK Chair, Sam Rose has stepped down from the position which has now been taken up by Tony Crouch from the City of Bath World Heritage Site. At the last meeting of the World Heritage UK Board in April, Sam said, I am very pleased that Tony Crouch has been elected by the Board as Chair in my place. I am delighted at the progress we have made. We have run a set of very popular and successful events, produced the first UK-wide brochure about our World Heritage Sites and managed to get ourselves a place at the top tables of the UK s heritage sector. What s more, we are being listened to, and as a result the profile of the UK s World Heritage Sites has been raised over the last couple of years. Tony replied, I am honoured and delighted to take on this role. I will work to ensure consolidates its position and influence within the UK heritage sector, and continues to support our members in delivering the requirements of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.

2 Starts First Ever Review of all UK Sites has started a major review of all 31 World Heritage Sites. This is the first time that a comprehensive picture of how the UK s World Heritage Sites are protected and managed has ever been undertaken. The review is being led by Chris Blandford, WHUK s President and a leading international heritage expert. The review will focus on key management problems and issues at the sites, which range from Stonehenge and the Giants Causeway, to Edinburgh New Town and Liverpool s city centre. It will investigate new options for sustainable management of sites, for public and private sector partnerships, and for improving benefits for local economies, stakeholders and investors. The process has already started, with in-depth interviews with site managers and stakeholders across the country. Visits have been made to 19 of the 27 onshore sites so far, with the other remaining sites scheduled over the next few months. Sponsorship for the review has been secured from: Historic England, CADW in Wales, Historic Environment Scotland, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, and others. It is anticipated that the final report will be UK WHS Review includes Overseas Territories As part of the review of the UK s World Heritage Sites, Chris Blandford has visited the Historic Town of St George and related fortifications on the island of Bermuda, St Catherine s coastal fort completed in late autumn 2018, for sharing with the sites, government and other partners. Chris Blandford, President, said: Collectively Britain s World Heritage sites are the crown jewels of our national heritage and we need to look after them much better than we currently do. Before we can start to advise government, UNESCO and others on future management we need to find out exactly where the problems are and what the solutions might be. This is what the review aims to do Tony Crouch, Chairman, said: We are delighted that Chris is bringing his immense practical knowledge and skill to this task, which we see as central to our job in advising and encouraging government and site managers to take our World Heritage responsibilities seriously. We know that some sites are very well managed, but others are more problematic and may lack all the resources needed for quality management Professor Ian Wray, Vice Chairman, said: The UK s World Heritage sites are central to Britain s island story and, since Britain had such an important role in international events, to world history and heritage. They are the sleeping giants of our national heritage and of our national soft power and cultural tourism. where he was hosted by Charlotte Andrews the current Chair of the WHS steering group. There he met with the island s Governor, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Planning Director, and key stakeholders in the WHS including St Georges Corporation, St Georges Foundation, Bermuda National Trust, Bermuda National Museum and Hotelco Bermuda Holding Ltd. Representing in one of the UK s four Overseas Territories with World Heritage Site status, he toured many of the island s heritage assets. Inscribed in 2000, the WHS is essentially the whole of the historic town of St George (the original capital being moved to Hamilton), together with a series of coastal forts of different ages related to the defence of the town. These are just a small selection from the 90 such sites that cover the defence of the island as a whole.

WORLD HERITAGE UK New Member in the Caribbean! is delighted to welcome the Corporation of St. George s UNESCO World Heritage Fund and Levy as its latest Voting Member.

represented amongst the World Heritage UK membership. and Segovia in previous years and this time was sponsored by Associazione Beni Italiani Patrimonio Mondiale Unesco.

and storytelling, and a World Heritage Lab to share experience and to develop a vision.

3 WORLD HERITAGE UK New Member in the Caribbean! is delighted to welcome the Corporation of St. George s UNESCO World Heritage Fund and Levy as its latest Voting Member. The Historic Town of St George and related fortifications on the island of Bermuda joins the Gorham s Cave Complex on Gibraltar as the second World Heritage Site in the UK Overseas Territories to be represented amongst the World Heritage UK membership. and Segovia in previous years and this time was sponsored by Associazione Beni Italiani Patrimonio Mondiale Unesco. It was hosted and chaired by Carlo Francini who is the WHS Coordinator for Florence In addition to the Association s steering group business, there were some papers along the theme of communications and storytelling, and a World Heritage Lab to share experience and to develop a vision. Some UK represented at EWHA Roundtable The European World Heritage Associations Roundtable took place on 10 and 11 May 2018 in the World Heritage Site city of Ferrara with its unspoiled combination of medieval core Jewish quarter and a Renaissance extension all focussed on a medieval castello. Some of the European delegates sightseeing the hard way! of the group put together a more focused strategy for presentation and discussion at the next meeting which will be in the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto WHS, in Sicily on 18 and 19 October. The medieval castle at Ferrara The gathering of Associations is a relatively new initiative and has yet to mature in terms of constitution and shared vision. This meeting follows similar ones at Lubeck Response to Draft NPPF for England The Government s planning policies for England are set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The Government has recently announced its intention to revise the Framework and has consulted on a draft revision. has responded to the consultation. As a State Party to the World Heritage Convention, the UK is required to protect, preserve, present and transmit The group in Ferrara was very pleased to have representation from and Chris Blandford gave a short presentation on both days. It was very useful to make contact with other key players who are very keen to continue our participation and are interested in how WHUK is supported and maintains its independence, he said. to future generations its World Heritage Sites. It does this primarily through its planning systems. In the last 18 months, has been working to suggest how the UK s planning systems could be improved further to meet these responsibilities. The full text of the response can be found on the website.

WORLD HERITAGE UK Kew Gardens Technical Meeting 's latest workshop, 'Commercial Best Practice in World Heritage' took place at the beginning of March in the magnificent setting of the Kew Gardens

Beating the inclement weather the week before, the participants enjoyed a bright couple of days (with the occasional shower) exploring some of the treasures this remarkable place holds.

behind-thescenes restoration work and special privilege access to areas not open to the public.

4 WORLD HERITAGE UK Kew Gardens Technical Meeting 's latest workshop, 'Commercial Best Practice in World Heritage' took place at the beginning of March in the magnificent setting of the Kew Gardens UNESCO World Heritage Site. Beating the inclement weather the week before, the participants enjoyed a bright couple of days (with the occasional shower) exploring some of the treasures this remarkable place holds. Travelling on the explorer bus through budding narcissi and spring crocus, the party of thirty delegates were transported to The Pagoda, Queen Charlotte's Cottage and the Temperate House so see behind-thescenes restoration work and special privilege access to areas not open to the public. Climbing three hundred steps to the top of the pagoda to meet the restoration experts and the first of the ornamental dragons being mounted there was a memorable experience. Particularly impressive was the amount of research that has taken place in order to match the There be dragons original design of the architect William Chambers back in 1761, including paint analysis to achieve an accurate representation of the eighteenth century colour scheme. The group were told that this monument is the most important garden ornament in the world - quite fitting to be found in a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On to Queen Charlotte's Cottage, Towards the Pagoda (like The Pagoda, managed by Historic Royal Palaces) this hidden gem is an early example of a cottage orné, a rustic thatched cottage built as a country retreat, not as a residence, and used for taking tea during walks in the gardens. A favourite place of King George III, it houses many Hogarth prints and once had a menagerie which included the first kangaroos from the colonies. Then the magnificent Temperate House which is undergoing major restoration and the works are now nearing completion with just a few weeks to go. This is a major investment into World Heritage, costing 41m and the newly painted (four coats) and glazed building is already receiving some of the 10,000 plants of 1500 species while the finishing touches to the structure are being undertaken. Temperate House restoration After a warm welcome speech from the Director at Kew Gardens, Richard Deverell, the workshop participants received expert wisdom in stimulating presentations from two of Kew's senior staff, setting the scene for them getting engaged in three workshop groups which enabled a willing exchange of knowledge and experience between those taking part. If this was not enough to fill the one and a half days spent together, everyone enjoyed the evening dinner at the nearby London Museum of Water and Steam, where the heritage engines were fired up in a magnificent demonstration of 19th century mechanical engineering. Thanks go to John Porter for setting up this arrangement and to the sponsors of the event, Historic England and Lichfields consultancy, without whom this workshop would not have been realised.

welcomes change of mood on Liverpool s World Heritage Site Liverpool's World Heritage Site has been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in danger since 2012.

5 welcomes change of mood on Liverpool s World Heritage Site Liverpool's World Heritage Site has been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in danger since UNESCO's primary concern has centred on the tall buildings in the Liverpool Waters development proposal, put forward by Peel Holdings, which was given outline planning permission in The perceived negative impact of these proposed tall buildings was on long distance views of the Liverpool skyline from the other bank of the Mersey. Of particular concern, it appears, were the tall buildings proposed for the former Clarence Dock site, which is within the World Heritage Site buffer zone. In response to UNESCO s concerns, Liverpool City Council and Peel Holdings have together recently taken three positive initiatives to minimise the risk of Liverpool losing World Heritage Status and to ultimately take it off the endangered list. These include a new high level task force to raise the profile of the World Heritage Site and address the concerns raised by UNESCO; a Desired State of Conservation Report to set out their view of the city s World Heritage status as it stands; and a review of the master plan for the Liverpool Waters area, where in fact no new development has actually taken place since outline permission was granted in From its national perspective, World Heritage UK warmly welcomes all these initiatives and believes that they signal a genuine change of mood in Liverpool. On behalf of all of the UK s World Heritage Sites, we ask UNESCO to open a process of constructive dialogue with the UK Government and Liverpool s stakeholders, in the hope that this will lead to a change in the position they have previously taken on Liverpool s World Heritage Site. We further hope that, as the State Party, the Government will fully engage with the process, thus enabling then to fulfil their international obligations and responsibilities under the World Heritage Convention for the protection and enhancement of the outstanding universal value of all the UK s World Heritage Sites, not least Liverpool. Dates for the diary Members are invited to send any issues they wish addressed at the Board meetings listed below The 2018 diary dates are: 25th June - Board Meeting, London 18th September - World Heritage UK Board Meeting, London 8th and 9th October - World Heritage UK Annual Conference and AGM, Tower of London 6th December - World Heritage UK Board Meeting, London More dates to be added look online for details. FOR MORE INFORMATION For information on the Sites, meeting/conference papers, the blog, membership, fees and an application form please visit or contact membership@worldheritageuk.org twitter@worldheritageuk facebook.com/worldheritageuk has now been registered with the Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation by Association, no Registration date 1st September 2015

Town and Country Planning Act 1990 Section 79 and Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules 2000

Town and Country Planning Act 1990 Section 79 and Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules 2000 Statement of Case of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Application by Starbones Ltd. Land