BCD 2018

26 C AT H E D R A L COMMU N C I AT I O N S C E L E B R AT I N G T W E N T Y F I V E Y E A R S O F T H E B U I L D I N G CO N S E R VAT I O N D I R E C TO R Y 1 9 9 3 – 2 0 1 8 Dresden Elbe Valley in Germany, designated in 2004 and delisted in 2009 in response to the building of a four-lane bridge through the heart of the cultural landscape, which was deemed detrimental to its outstanding universal value. Before a site is delisted, the World Heritage Committee places it on the List of World Heritage in Danger (LWHD) and seeks to collaborate with the local authorities to take corrective action. The aim is to restore the site’s values and enable its swift removal from the LWHD. If remediation fails, the committee then revokes the designation. There are currently 54 sites on the LWHD. The identified feasible threats according to Article 11(4) of the 1972 convention include large-scale or rapid development, abandonment, conflict and natural disasters. The list is perceived differently by different state parties. According to UNESCO, LWHD inscription ‘should not be considered as a sanction, but as a system established to respond to specific conservation needs in an efficient manner’. Some countries therefore apply for inscription and attempt to obtain international expert assistance to solve the problem. Others, however, regard the action as a form of reproach and do their best to avoid it. In addition to these sanctions, each country has its local historic/heritage polices. In the UK each of the home nations has specific planning policies for the protection of world heritage sites, and buildings and structures within a WHS will often be protected as listed buildings and scheduled monuments or through conservation area designation, limiting the alterations that can be made without special consents (see page 37). International activity in heritage management has resulted in a continuous stream of heritage standard-setting documents. These are disseminated by key international organisations, namely UNESCO, ICOMOS, ICCROM and the Council of Europe. (The UK, it should be noted, is likely to remain a member of the Council of Europe post Brexit.) The key aim has been to hand on the world’s patrimony ‘in the full richness of its authenticity’ and to ensure the international application of heritage conservation principles. UK POSITION AND DIRECTION By signing the convention in 1984, the UK government undertook to ‘identify, protect, conserve, present and transmit’ world heritage sites to future generations. To date, 31 sites in the UK have been designated on the World Heritage List; 26 cultural (including one on the List of World Heritage in Danger), four natural and one mixed. Also, 11 properties are on the tentative list, with decisions pending. The designated sites in the UK vary in size and type and include archaeological sites, major country houses and their parks, industrial sites (Liverpool) and heritage cities (Bath and Edinburgh). In the UK, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is the lead government department on world heritage issues and is responsible for ensuring that the UK fulfils its obligations under the 1972 convention. Historic England is the government’s statutory adviser on the historic environment in England, but it also assists the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the Scottish Government, Historic Environment Scotland, Cadw and Overseas Territories’ heritage agencies in advising DCMS on managing world heritage sites in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and overseas respectively. At regional level, regional government offices are responsible for safeguarding world heritage sites through regional spatial strategies and funding. At local level, local authorities are responsible for spatial planning and for the communication, management and promotion of the sites. In addition, a range of other government organisations and NGOs have a particular involvement in world heritage affairs, such as ICOMOS UK. In line with the 1972 convention, each local authority should prepare a management plan for the world heritage sites on its territories. This is based on maintaining the outstanding universal value, authenticity and integrity of the site so the impacts of any change in the WHS should be based on respecting these values. In England, the management plans are usually prepared with a future vision for a number of years and they are produced with respect to the National Planning Policy Framework (2012) with the main aim of achieving sustainable development. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee may become involved with individual sites in various ways. All correspondence with the World Heritage Centre, advisory bodies and the committee is conducted by DCMS. Changes to the definition of outstanding universal value, the boundaries of the site or its buffer zone should be reported to the committee, which in turn reviews all world heritage sites on a cyclical basis. Furthermore, proposals for major restorations, regeneration or interventions which may affect the outstanding universal value of a site should be reported to the committee in order to advise on appropriate resolutions to ensure that its OUV is fully preserved. This process often raises problems in terms of defining whether developments will have an adverse impact on OUV and to what degree. There are also potential conflicts in timing since the committee meets only once a year while UK planning decisions are normally taken more frequently. Indeed, ‘large-scale public or private projects or rapid urban or tourist development projects’ are among the threats identified in Article 11(4) of the 1972 convention. The crux of the argument is how to introduce regeneration projects in harmony with the heritage context in such a way that all heritage values are safeguarded and current requirements are met with respect to sustainable development standards. The questions that might arise here are: what benefits does world heritage site designation bring and should cities ever consider simply ignoring the designation in the interests of promoting economic growth? CONSERVATION AND URBAN REGENERATION The world heritage movement is based on the notion that certain cultural and natural assets are the collective property and responsibility of all humanity, despite having vastly different historical, cultural, and geographical derivations. World heritage site designation bestows, inter alia , international prestige, national identity and civic pride. Designation also confers particular protection and preservation on the most valued historic sites while also increasing tourism. It is argued that the impacts of urban development projects in or adjacent to world heritage sites have been growing markedly, delivering regeneration opportunities but also posing threats to their heritage value. In the UK, conservation became established as a major objective of planning policy in the 1970s and 1980s. Consequently, heritage regeneration has been one of the cornerstones of economic and social revival of historic towns and cities in the UK. Conservation is defined by Historic The Bling Bling Building (Piers Gough, 2006) on Hanover Street, Liverpool in the world heritage site’s buffer zone (Photo: Peter de Figueiredo) Green Park House Accommodation, Bath (David Brain Partnership, 2016), which provides mainly student accommodation for Bath Spa University in the city centre (Photo: Jonathan Taylor)