Wednesday 23 July 2014

Heaps Mill-English Heritage Slam Plans EXCLUSIVE

We have been informed by Head of International advice at English Heritage that the 25 Storey element of the proposals which will demolish Heaps Rice Mill will be in conflict with the Tall Buildings Element of  Liverpool's Supplementary Planning document for the World Heritage Site.

Liverpool City Council have been instructed by English Heritage not to consider the application until the application to have the building listed has been considered by them.


JOHN ROWLANDS
If you care about conserving your heritage, and stopping the demolition of Heaps Rice Mill, please come to the Public Meeting tomorrow at Unit 51, Baltic Creative, Jamaica Street Liverpool.It will take place from 6p.m. to 8 p.mm. Joe Anderson Mayor of Liverpool has been invited, as has a representative of English Heritage, at least one local councillor we be there. Peter Brown from Merseyside Civic Society will chair the meeting. If you have ideas or comments about the Mill here is your chance to air them at the meeting. 

Thats Thursday 24th July 2014
This is exceptional news for us all who are campaigning to save Heaps Mill in light of the recent re-in statement of Liverpool on the Unesco "In Danger" list.

http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/liverpool-mercantile-and-maritime-world.html

FRIDAY, 11 JULY 2014


Liverpool Mercantile and Maritime World Heritage Site-Stays On 2014 Unesco In Danger List

State of conservation of World Heritage properties WHC-14/38.COM/7A, p. 32

inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger

Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City (United Kingdom of Great Britain and 19.Northern Ireland) (C 1150)

Year of inscription on the World Heritage List 2004

Criteria (ii)(iii)(iv)

Year(s) of inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger 2012 to present

Threats for which the property was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger

The proposed development of Liverpool Waters

Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger

In progress

Corrective measures identified

In progress

Timeframe for the implementation of the corrective measures

In progress

Previous Committee Decisions See page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1150/documents/

International Assistance

Requests approved: 0 Total amount approved: 0 USD For details, see page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1150/assistance/

UNESCO Extra-budgetary Funds

N/A

Previous monitoring missions

October 2006: joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission; November 2011: joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission.

Factors affecting the property identified in previous reports

• Lack of overall management of new developments;

• Lack of analysis and description of the townscape characteristics relevant to the Outstanding Universal Value of the property and important views related to the property and its buffer zone;

• Lack of clearly established maximum heights for new developments, for the backdrops of the World Heritage areas as well as along the waterfront;

• Lack of awareness of developers, building professionals and the wider public about the World Heritage property, its Outstanding Universal Value and requirements under the World Heritage Convention.

Illustrative material See page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1150

Current conservation issues

On 31 January 2014, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1150/documents/.

The report pointed out that, while the overall Liverpool Waters scheme received irrevocable approval, no concrete steps have yet been taken towards its implementation. It explained that detailed master plans for each phase of the 30-year-scheme as well as detailed proposals would need to be elaborated first and reviewed against numerous legal obligations and planning conditions before permission for actual execution would be granted. The State Party considered that this process would still allow addressing the Committee’s concerns and requests. It further informed that design and conservation bodies are being set up, which include the City Council, the developer Peel Holdings and English Heritage, to ensure the respect of the obligations and conditions for planning permissions.

State of conservation of World Heritage properties WHC-14/38.COM/7A, p. 33

inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger

In its letter of 31 January 2014, the State Party confirmed that it had received a first draft of the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) prepared by the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS on 29 April 2013. On 15 April 2014, the State Party submitted a draft DSOCR prepared on its behalf by English Heritage in coordination with and agreed by the property’s key stakeholders, City Council, Peel Holdings and the chair of the property’s World Heritage Steering Group. The State Party explained that the draft DSOCR focuses on those arrangements and controls that the English legal system allows within the terms of the non-cancellable planning permission. The draft DSOCR is currently being reviewed by the Advisory Bodies in view of its presentation to the Committee at its 39th session.

On 15 April 2014, the State Party also expressed its willingness to consider organising a consultative seminar that would gather the key stakeholders, ICOMOS and the World Heritage Centre.

Furthermore, the State Party reported on concerns about an approved demolition scheme for an area within the World Heritage property (Ropewalks area), for which a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) had been elaborated, based on which English Heritage recommended to refuse consent.

Finally, the State Party also informed about achievements in restoring and converting significant landmark buildings of Liverpool to new functions, in particular hotel and conference uses.

Analysis and Conclusions of the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and ICCROM

The findings of the joint reactive monitoring mission of November 2011, as expressed in the opinion of the World Heritage Committee in its previous Decisions, indicated that the Liverpool Waters development scheme, if implemented as currently planned, would irreversibly damage the attributes of the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and the conditions of integrity that warranted inscription, and could lead to the potential deletion of the property from the World Heritage List.

The State Party expects detailed master plans for each phase of the overall Liverpool Waters scheme to be developed as well as detailed proposals for each plan, all of which would need specific planning permission; it also considers that this process could address the Committee’s concerns. This process would need to clearly define how this can be achieved based on a revised overall vision for the entire development area.

It is noted that the State Party provided a draft DSOCR and a proposal for corrective measures, and also expressed its willingness to take concrete next steps to work in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies. It is recalled that the corrective measures must be deliverable and clearly linked to an overall vision for the property.

While the State Party submitted a draft DSOCR and a set of corrective measures, it is considered that there have been no further actions to remove the potential danger as requested by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th and 37th sessions. The property is therefore considered under continued threat and it is consequently recommended that the Committee retain the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Draft Decision: 38 COM 7A.19

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7A,

2. Recalling Decisions 36 COM 7B.93 and 37 COM 7A.35, adopted at its 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012) and 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013) sessions respectively,

3. Also recalling the results of the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission of November 2011,

4. Reiterates its serious concern over the potential threat of the Liverpool Waters development scheme on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, and notes that the implementation of the development, as currently planned, would

State of conservation of World Heritage properties WHC-14/38.COM/7A, p. 34

inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger

irreversibly damage the attributes and conditions of integrity that warranted inscription, and could lead to the potential deletion of the property from the World Heritage List;

5. Also notes the information provided by the State Party, and requests it to:

a) submit comprehensive documentation for any proposed detailed master plans and detailed planning proposals, before they are adopted, together with an overall vision for the property over-arching such master plans, as well as details of the draft legal obligations and draft planning conditions for granting permission for any future development proposals,

b) ensure that the process whereby master plans and detailed plans for the Liverpool Waters scheme, when developed, takes into consideration the concerns of the World Heritage Committee;

6. Strongly urges the State Party to consider all measures that would allow changes to the extent and scope of the proposed Liverpool Waters scheme to ensure the continued coherence of the architectural and town-planning attributes, and the continued safeguarding of the OUV of the property including the conditions of authenticity and integrity;

7. Further notes with appreciation that the State Party submitted a proposal for the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger along with a set of corrective measures, and expressed its willingness to pursue consultations with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in view of its finalisation for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015;

8. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015;

9. Decides to retain Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) on the World Heritage List in Danger.

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