Decision 38 COM 7B.36

Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey including Saint Margaret’s Church (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) (C 426bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decisions 36 COM 7B.92 and 37 COM 7B.90, 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 December 2011,
4. Takes note of the State Party’s efforts to strengthen the policy and planning framework through guidance documents and enhanced coordination of the relevant planning authorities;
5. Notes with concern that the State Party has not taken action to revise the development schemes of Nine Elms Regeneration Development Market Towers, Vauxhall Cross and Vauxhall Island Site, and urges the State Party to ensure that the proposals are not implemented in their current form but revised in line with the concerns raised by English Heritage;
6. While noting that formal consent has yet to be granted for the Elizabeth House development scheme, also notes with serious concern that there are no legal obstacles for granting final permission for the development scheme, and reiterates its request to the State Party to ensure that the proposal is not approved in its current form and that it be revised in line with the concerns raised by expert bodies, including English Heritage;
7. Requests the State Party to ensure that, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, any larger-scale projects which may be proposed in the future in the immediate and wider setting of the World Heritage property be submitted to the World Heritage Centre as soon as possible, and that adequate time be allowed for thorough review of each project by the Advisory Bodies before any decision is taken;
8. Further 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, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015.