Decision 45 COM 7B.205

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/23/45.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 44 COM 7B.161 and 43 COM 7B.94 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021) and 43rd session (Baku, 2019) respectively,
3. Welcomes the State Party’s continued efforts to implement and use the 2017 joint ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission recommendations to inform emerging planning policy, and the continued efforts and advice of Historic England to influence statutory decision making, acknowledges the information provided on the ‘Levelling Up and Regeneration’ Bill and encourages the State Party to keep the World Heritage Centre informed about its progress and implications;
4. Also acknowledges the progress made in the finalization of the Management Plan and requests the State Party to submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies prior to adoption;
5. Also welcomes the revisions made to the new London Plan and Westminster City Plan, in line with Committee decisions, and also requests the State Party to submit the new framework for Annual Monitoring Reports (AMR) and the first new AMR to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
6. Notes with concern the findings of ICOMOS technical reviews of the Evelina Children’s Hospital extension of Saint Thomas’ Hospital and the Royal Street Site planning applications, as well as the objections by Historic England to both applications, and urges the State Party not to grant planning permissions and to conduct a detailed study of the assets of the area south of the property in its immediate setting and how these assets relate to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, as a basis for the development of a Master Plan and to inform site allocations under the Lambeth Local Plan;
7. Further welcomes the information provided on the data sharing platform, the database for tall buildings, and the use of this data for 3D models and also encourages the State Party to actively use the digital data and 3D modelling for long-term planning and management of development, such as in the area south of the property in its immediate setting, to effectively safeguard the OUV of the property and in particular its integrity from any visual impacts;
8. Takes note of the updates provided by the State Party regarding the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) project for the completion of the Palace of Westminster and the Conservation Management Plans, as well as the ongoing restoration and repair works, and the need for an ongoing Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre the details of the proposed Parliament Square Streetscape project, at an early stage, if the project proceeds beyond the concept stage, and reiterates its request to the State Party to submit the details, including HIAs, of the R&R project to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, as soon as they are available and prior to any decision or approval;
9. Further notes with concern that the State Party has introduced legislation to remove the obstacle that led the High Court to quash the decision to build the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens, reiterates its serious concerns that the proposed location of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens would have a significant adverse impact on the OUV of the property, and therefore requests the State Party to refrain from any action which would allow the current proposal to proceed, and to seek alternative locations and/or designs;
10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, 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 47th session.