UK National Commission for UNESCO :: Eleven potential World Heritage Sites make up UK shortlist

Eleven potential World Heritage Sites make up UK shortlist

Eleven new sites from across the UK and its Overseas Territories have been selected for possible World Heritage Site status. These sites make up the UK’s new Tentative List, a register from which sites are considered for nomination for World Heritage Status.

The sites, as announced by Tourism and Heritage Minister John Penrose, are:

Chatham Dockyard and its Defences, Kent, England
Creswell Crags, Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire, England
England’s Lake District, Cumbria
Gorham’s Cave Complex, Gibraltar
The Island of St Helena, South Atlantic Ocean
Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, England
Mousa, Old Scatness & Jarlshof, Shetland, Scotland
Slate Industry of North Wales
The Flow Country, Scotland
The Forth Bridge (Rail), Scotland
Turks & Caicos Islands, West Indies

Two sites that are being considered by UNESCO already will also join the Tentative List:

Twin Monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow, Sunderland and South Tyneside, England
Darwin’s Landscape Laboratory, Kent, England

The new Tentative List was created following an independent review of 38 applications submitted to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) last year. The review panel was Chaired by Sue Davies, Chair of the United Kingdom National Commission for UNESCO’s (UKNC) Culture Committee. Two other UKNC Culture Committee members, David Thackray and Professor Mike Robinson, also sat on the panel.

Download the expert panel’s full report here.

Tourism and Heritage Minister John Penrose said,“Few places in the world can match the wealth of wonderful heritage we have available in the UK. The 11 places that make up the new UK Tentative List are fantastic examples of both our cultural and natural heritage and I believe they have every chance of joining famous names like the Sydney Opera House and the Canadian Rockies to become World Heritage Sites.”

“I’d like to thank the independent expert panel chaired by Sue Davies who have been through all our nominations in detail to make sure the shortlist we now have gives us the best chance of success when putting forward any of these sites to UNESCO in future.”

The new Tentative List will now be submitted to UNESCO with the aim of nominating new sites from 2012. Whether sites are given a nomination slot will depend on the robustness of their case and the likelihood of inscription by the World Heritage Committee.

Written: 23/03/2011 , last modified: 23/03/2011