Unesco threatens removal of Liverpool’s World Heritage Status
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has asked the government not to approve Peel’s proposal for the £5.5bn Mersey Waters scheme.
The organisation has said that World Heritage Status could be withdrawn from Liverpool if the plans go ahead in their current form. Unesco is also planning to send representatives to the city in the autumn on a fact-finding mission.
Heritage organisations have been critical of Peel’s plans in their current form. The objections relate to the scale of the proposed buildings and their potential to block views of the Three Graces, and the damaging impact that underground elements could have on the dock’s archeological remains – “the technical innovation of which is one of the main reasons why Liverpool is a World Heritage Site”, according to English Heritage.
However, many business figures in the city have argued that Heritage status should be abandoned if it stands in the way of progress. At recent panel debate held by TheBusinessDesk.com, DWF executive partner Andy Green argued that the loss of World Heritage site designation that was granted to the city in 2004 would be “the best thing that could happen” to the city.
Frank McKenna, chair of Downtown Liverpool in Business, agreed. He said: “Peel can take their money elsewhere. To have them as partners is fantastic but unless we can find a way through these planning challenges then why wouldn’t they go elsewhere?”
Others, however, have urged for greater caution and called for Peel to do more to meet the concerns of the heritage lobby.
Peel initially submitted its plan for Liverpool Waters in October last year and has been in consultation ever since with a view to avoiding a formal objection that could lead to a lengthy public inqury.
An outcome on the first stage of the process – a determination by Liverpool City Council – is not expected until September at the earliest.
The 60 hectare Liverpool Waters is one half of a wider £10bn plan for both sides of the Mersey river. The Wirral Waters element of the scheme was approved by Wirral Council last year and was subsequently waved through by Secretary of State for Local Government Eric Pickles in March.
