Decision 41 COM 7B.46

Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue (Hungary) (C 400bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7B.79, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
3. Welcomes the efforts made by the State Party to improve the protection of all components of the property and its buffer zone and encourages it to sustain these efforts to prevent any loss of authenticity and integrity due to the planned developments in the property or its buffer zone which could constitute a threat to the property;
4. Nonetheless express concern at the modification to the setting regulations of Budapest approved by the Municipality of Budapest in December 2016 to allow tall buildings up to 120 metre height in the 11th District, part of the wider setting of the property, which would adversely impact on World Heritage cityscape and protected views, and urges the State Party to consider how World Heritage protection can take precedent over this regulation;
5. Reiterates its request that the State Party finalize, as soon as possible, the Management Plan of the property, including details of the protective measures and reference to decision making framework in regulatory regimes, as well as a proposal for enlargement of the buffer zone and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
6. Notes with concern that a number of large-scale development projects proposed within the property, its buffer zone and its wider setting which may substantially impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
7. Noting that the State Party invited an ICOMOS Advisory mission in order to review and analyze all ongoing and planned interventions, recommends that this mission take place by end of 2017 and also urges the State Party to halt further permissions for major projects until this assessment has been undertaken;
8. Should the conclusions of the analysis by the Advisory mission indicate any potential negative impact on the OUV of the property, also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to assess the potential impact of the developments proposed on the OUV of the property, in light of the conclusion of the analysis by the Advisory mission;
9. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2018, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 43rd session in 2019.