The closing date for applications is: 11 June 2010

The Tentative List was last revised in 1999. This is the chance for all aspiring sites to be considered for possible nomination over the next five to ten years. Please spread the news of this process to appropriate organisations who might have an interest in suggesting a site.

All applications will be assessed by a panel of independent experts appointed by Government.  The new Tentative List will be submitted to Ministers for approval before going forward to UNESCO in 2011.

Full details of how to apply including the necessary forms  and an application pack can be found on the DCMS web-site at:  http://www.culture.gov.uk/consultations/6740.aspx

Cultural World Heritage Sites are incredibly diverse, ranging from individual monuments and sites, such as Stonehenge and Avebury, to historic areas and cities such as Bath, Liverpool and Edinburgh. The defining characteristic that links all cultural World Heritage Sites is that the asset or property must be recognised as being of ‘outstanding universal value’.

In many countries, World Heritage Sites are provided with statutory protection under national planning and/or development legislation. This is not the case in the United Kingdom, although the outstanding international importance of the site does constitute a key material consideration to be taken into account by local planning authorities in determining planning and listed building applications. Local authorities are also required to formulate specific planning policies for protecting World Heritage Sites.

This course introduces participants to the processes of WHS nomination and inscription, and explores the impact of WHS designation on the management of a site. It will discuss some of the practical issues that flow from WHS inscription and the need to manage and protect a site’s ‘outstanding universal value’. It is aimed at professionals who would like to know more about the position of World Heritage Sites in the planning process (in England and the rest of the UK), and to those who are keen to improve the quality, relevance and effectiveness of World Heritage Site management plans and planning.

Audience
The course is open to all, but will be of particular interest to:
• World Heritage Site co-ordinators and managers or those providing advice to other property owners/managers in the vicinity of a WHS;
• Planners who have to consider the potential impact of development proposals on a WHS or within the setting or buffer zone of a WHS;
• Heritage practitioners who wish to understand the importance and impact of World Heritage Sites or who might become involved in preparing a WHS management plan or a conservation management plan for a heritage asset in close proximity to one;
• Practitioners who have an interest in working on projects for UNESCO internationally.

More information

If you have any questions about this course, please email professional.arch@conted.ox.ac.uk

A 1-day event aimed at people involved in the planning system within World Heritage Sites, including Planners, Conservation Officers, WHS Co-ordinators and Councillors.

The event, which is being held at two alternative venues, has been organised jointly by the Local Authority World Heritage Forum (LAWHF), English Heritage and ICOMOS-UK.

The Telford event will be chaired by Gillian Clarke, Secretary of LAWHF and the Newcastle upon Tyne event by Susan Denyer, Secretary of ICOMOS-UK.

For more information please e-mail jbl.telshrops@blueyonder.co.uk or telephone Jonathan Lloyd on 01952 587615

Download the programme and booking form

Please join an evening looking at contemporary architecture in the context of a World Heritage City with a special guest from Canada, Herb Stovel, an expert on World Heritage matters, to speak about his experiences with the changing landscape of international world heritage cities.

Please contact Glasgow City Heritage Trust on 0141 552 1331 to reserve your place (limited spaces available).

Stenness, Orkney; Copyright: Historic Scotland

Scottish Ministers announced today their decision to refuse planning permission for the proposed development of three wind turbines at Merranblo, Stromness, Orkney. The application was considered at a local public inquiry in January 2008. ICOMOS-UK appeared at the inquiry along with other organisations, such as Historic Scotland, Orkney Archaeological Trust, Orkney Skyline Concern and Scottish Natural Heritage.

The World Heritage Site (WHS) in Orkney was inscribed on the World Heritage List as “a major prehistoric cultural landscape that provides a graphic depiction of life in a remote archipelago in the far north of Scotland some 5,000 years ago. [...] The monuments of Orkney, dating back to 3000-2000 BC, are outstanding testimony to the cultural achievements of the Neolithic peoples of northern Europe” (UNESCO World Heritage Centre). At the Inquiry ICOMOS-UK expressed concern about the adverse impact of the turbines on the historic environment of the WHS and its setting, as we believed that the site of the proposed development was located within the area of visual impact of the WHS.

The World Heritage Convention in 1972 was set out to identify, protect and preserve for future generations cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding universal value to humanity. ICOMOS-UK believed that the erection of the proposed wind turbines would compromise this very sensitive Scottish landscape and therefore have a detrimental impact on the outstanding universal value for which the WHS was inscribed in 1999.

The report by the Scottish Ministers concluded that “given the international importance of the cultural heritage resources of the area [...] the objective of preserving these monuments within an appropriate setting is consistent with the fundamental objectives of national policy”.

A Joint conference organised by the Royal Town Planning Institute, Royal Institute of British Architects and the Belper Civic Forum. This significant annual conference will be held in Belper to closely examine problems such as the conflict between economic development and conservation in a World Heritage Site context. Concessions available for local residents and Civic Forum members.

“New Challenges in Urban Design” Conference Poster

Conference Booking Form

The Bath Chronicle reported that Dyson abandoned his plan after the Government’s rejection of a funding proposal and after facing a planning inquiry last August, which was called due to opposition from the Environment Agency.

The school had originally been due to open this autumn. Read full article on the Bath school plans.

28 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, at 5.45 for 6.00pm (to end by 8.00pm)

The Antonine Wall

Tuesday 7 October 2008

Dr David Breeze (Historic Scotland) on “The Antonine Wall and its relevance to the wider European definition of the boundaries of the Roman Empire”

Tuesday 18 November 2008:

Robin Turner, Head of Archaeology at the National Trust for Scotland, will describe the process of submitting St Kilda for the double nomination of both cultural and natural values, and will set this in the context of other similar sites.

Tuesday 20 January 2009:

Adam Wilkinson, Director, Edinburgh World Heritage Trust, will discuss the issues for the management and enhancement of the central core of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh within the wider city, and its broader social and economic planning framework, with reference to other similar World Heritage cities in Europe.

Tuesday 17 February 2009:

Dr James Arnold, Director of New Lanark Heritage Trust, will speak about the mixed use of the World Heritage Site with its social, economic and historical values, and will make comparisons with other similar multi-use sites in other parts of Europe.

Spaces at each lecture/discussion will be limited, and early reservation of places is recommended (contact Lester Borley: e-mail: lesterborley@waitrose.com or tel: 0131332 2364).

Cost for each lecture is £5 (Europa Nostra UK or NTS member) or £7 (non-members), to include a glass of wine at the conclusion of each event.

“World heritage status, enjoyed by 885 sites on the planet, means absolutely nothing” and goes on with: “The decline of British urban design is a mystery. Projects that would not survive a minute in other European cities must be fought line by line through British planning committees, public inquiries and courts.”

Read the full article by Simon Jenkins

Read ICOMOS-UK’s response

We welcome your comments on this story below.

By Sarah Simmonds, Avebury World Heritage Site Officer

Avebury WHS Residents' Pack

One July evening in 2006 residents of the World Heritage Site were invited to appear in an aerial photograph of the Avebury henge. The evening marked the launch of a project to produce a Residents’ Pack for Avebury and the chance for local people to get involved and say what they would like to see in it. After two years hard work by a wide range of contributors the World Heritage Site Residents’ Pack was launched at the local Avebury Day celebrations on 19th July this year. The pack is the first of its kind produced specifically for those who live within one of the UK’s 27 World Heritage Sites.

The purpose of the Residents’ Pack is to raise awareness and understanding among local residents of the uniquely valuable nature of Avebury World Heritage Site.

It aims to encourage a sense of ownership and responsibility for sustaining the values associated with the site whilst providing residents with the information they need to assist in looking after it.

The pack includes a book, Voices and Values, that consists of a collection of pieces by people with unique personal and professional insight into the area many of whom are local residents. These pieces cover not only the archaeological and historical values of the site but also its ecological, spiritual and social significance. The accompanying leaflets provide practical information for both new and long-standing residents on the roles of the various organisations involved in looking after the World Heritage Site and how to contact them and get involved. The pack has been very well-received with residents keen to get hold of their copies.

The pack was generously sponsored by a number of national and local funders including the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding National Beauty, English Heritage, the National Trust and Kennet District Council.

For further information contact Sarah Simmonds, Avebury World Heritage Site Officer
sarah.simmonds@kennet.gov.uk