Unesco World Heritage inspectors in Liverpool - council dossier, FAQ, and interviewees
Unesco inspectors today start a three-day fact finding mission to see whether Liverpool's World Heritage Site is safe.
Their main cause for concern is the planned £5.5bn skyscraper scheme to regenerate the city's northern docklands.
They have already been handed a 163-page dossier which Liverpool council hopes will help show the WHS is in good hands. Download it here: WHS_dossier.pdf
The council has also prepared a FAQ on the visit. The FAQ is clearly has a council slant on it, but I thought it worth sharing, here it is included below:
When and why was Liverpool awarded World Heritage status?
Liverpool - Maritime Mercantile City - was inscribed onto UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2004. Liverpool was granted World Heritage status because it was deemed by UNESCO to have 'outstanding universal value' and to have made a lasting contribution to world cultural heritage.
Which areas does the World Heritage site cover?
There are six areas of the city which form part of the city's World Heritage Site; Pier Head, Albert Dock, Stanley Dock, Castle Street, William Brown Street and Lower Duke Street. The six areas are also flanked by a buffer zone, which incorporates China Town, Rodney Street, the city's two cathedrals and the northern docks area.
When is the mission coming?
The World Heritage mission arrives in the city on the evening of Sunday 13th November. They will then spend three days, from Monday 14th November to Wednesday 16th November, touring areas of the World Heritage Site, meeting officials, business people and other interested parties and receiving presentations.
Who is in the mission?
The mission is made up of three technical experts - Ron van Oers and Patricia Alberth from UNESCO; and Giancarlo Barbato, an Italian Conservation Architect from ICOMOS, the International Committee on Monuments and Statues.
Are they here to decide whether the city should retain its World Heritage status?
No. The mission is here on a fact-finding mission, to meet officials, discuss planning policy and to hear the city's proposals for the future development of the World Heritage Site. The people involved in the mission are not decision-makers, they are technical experts who will report their findings to the decision-making body, the World Heritage Committee. The city is welcoming the mission's visit and the wealth of expertise and knowledge they will bring with them.
What is Liverpool Waters?
Liverpool Waters involves regenerating a 60-hectare historic dockland site to create a high-quality, mixed use waterfront. It totals 14 million sq ft and includes mixed use development of residential, visitor attractions, office/commercial and local shops and services. Liverpool Waters' planning application was lodged in 2010 and is currently with Liverpool City Council for determination. The area was selected as an Enterprise Zone by the Government earlier this year to encourage business-friendliness, growth and investment. It would transform long abandoned parts of the waterfront (the majority of which lie within the 'buffer zone' around the World Heritage site).
Does Liverpool Waters put the city's status at risk?
The city believes the development of Liverpool Waters can take place while preserving the city's unique heritage. The plans are vital for the future of what is one the most deprived areas of the country. However, the city is fully focused on the need to balance building a better future, with careful, sensitive regeneration.
What is more important to the city - new developments or World Heritage status?
Liverpool is extremely proud of its World Heritage Status as it recognises the global importance and significance of the city. However, the city's World Heritage Site is not preserved in aspic, it is a vibrant, growing part of an international city, which needs further investment, development and employment opportunities to improve the city's competitiveness. The city wants to balance preservation of heritage with major regeneration schemes. The protection of the city's heritage forms a central part of Liverpool planning policies and the city shares a good relationship, and works closely with, English Heritage.
How quickly will a decision be reached by UNESCO?
The findings of the mission will be considered at the meeting of the World Heritage Committee in June 2012. ***The inspectors will deliver their verdict by December 23, but the final decision will only be taken in June 2012.
And here is the list of people expected to meet the mission:
Liverpool City Council
Councillor Joe Anderson - leader of the Council
Councillor Malcolm Kennedy - Heritage Champion and Member for Regeneration and Transport
Councillor Wendy Simon - Member for Culture
Ged Fitzgerald - Chief Executive
Nick Kavanagh - Director of Regeneration
Mark Kitts - Assistant Executive Director
Mark Loughran - Development Control Manager
Peter Jones - Development Control Manager for Liverpool Waters
Rob Burns - Urban Design Manager
John Hinchliffe - World Heritage Officer
Keith Blundell - Tourism Manager
Steve Corbett - Conservation Manager
Chris Griffiths - Buildings at Risk Officer
Peter Hoey -Townscape Heritage Initiative Officer
English Heritage
Henry Owen-John - NW Regional Director
Graeme Ives - Historic Areas Advisor
Christopher Young - Head of World Heritage
Department for Culture Media and Sport
Paul Blaker - Head of World Heritage
World Heritage Site Steering Group
Ian Wray - Liverpool University and Chair
David Fleming - Director of National Museums Liverpool
Jenny Douglas - City Centre Development Manager, Liverpool Vision
John Belchem - Liverpool University
Maresa Molloy - Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Peel Holdings
Lindsey Ashworth - Development Director
Ian Pollit - Development/Investment Surveyor
Peter de Figueiredo - Historic Building Consultant
Keith Nutter - Planner at White Young Green
Martin Bailey - Planner at White Young Green
Adrian Griffiths - Architect at Chapman Taylor
Peter Swift - Landscape Architect/Urban Designer at Planit IE
The Mersey Partnership
Rod Holmes - Chairman
Liverpool Vision
Max Steinberg - Chief Executive
Mike Taylor - Deputy Chief Executive
Ian McCarthy - North Liverpool Manager
Richard Tracey -N Liverpool Development Officer
Claire McColgan - Director of Culture
Graham Boxer - Head of Arts, Heritage and Participation
Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Jack Stopforth - Chairman
Merseyside Civic Society
Peter Brown
Trevor Skempton
Liverpool Football Club
Ian Ayre - Managing Director
The Bluecoat
Alistair Upton - Director
Others
Robert Nadler - Director of Base2Stay
Steve Parry - Director of Neptune Developments
Chris Bliss - Managing Director of Liverpool One
Susan Dunn - ICOMOS UK
Wayne Colquhoun - Liverpool Preservation Trust
David Swift
FG- Florence Gersten - Save Our City
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David Bartlett
City editor of the Post and Echo covering politics, regeneration, and urban affairs.
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I heard Wayne Colquhoun on the radio this morning defending his hatred of all things post 1920, which he dresses up as a defence of World Heritage. So desperate was he to prove his claim that regeneration of the Pier Head is desperately unpopular, that he even claimed there were only 10 people in the museum when he was down there last Friday. I am sure this will be news to NML staff who, every day, show many hundreds of people around. A quick glance around Mr Colquhoun's blog reveals he is something of a Jekyll and Hyde character, rapidly falling out with people (including Merseyside Civic Society) who don't entirely agree with his views. Insults, hatred and bile flow through his keyboard, all aimed at people who dare to offer a different opinion. What I cannot fathom is why he thinks his campaign will help the cause of heritage in Liverpool. Losing World Heritage status would afford buildings less protection in planning terms, and mean less money for conservation. Perversely, he could end up damaging the very cause he is trying to champion. Go figure.
There was a quote from someone in Peel who said
"Liverpool has a beautiful shoreline but it is not big enough, it is not tall enough and it is not great enough."
I am kind of hoping they keep this guy away from the 'World Heritage Status' people when they come
I'm puzzled that he is taken so seriously.
The Liverpool Preservation Trust is not a proper Trust - it is an organisation that appears to be un-registered with the Charities Commission, to have no constitution, one ‘trustee’ (or ‘chairman’) and no members, so the trustee/chairman appears to speak for no-one but himself. And he appears to be an antique dealer who wants to turn Liverpool into the urban equivalent of Midsomer on the Mersey.
The development of apartments that have completely obliterated the view of the three graces when viewed from the Albert dock has convinced me this is all about money not heritage. I am fully supportive of further development of the Liverpool waterfront but not at the cost of completely removing a scenic view painted on the wall of a Liverpool based restaurant on Aigburth Road. To put it bluntly an absolute dis - grace. This is all about money not heritage and shame on you Liverpool City Council.