Decision 45 COM 8B.74

Minor boundary modifications - Three Castles, Defensive Wall and Ramparts of the Market-Town of Bellinzona, Switzerland

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Documents WHC/23/45.COM/8B and WHC/23/45.COM/INF.8B1,
2. Approves the proposed buffer zone for the Three Castles, Defensive Wall and Ramparts of the Market-Town of Bellinzona, Switzerland;
3. Recommends the State Party to give consideration to the following:
   1. Finalising the management plan currently in its revision phase, concentrating on the protection of the Outstanding Universal Value of the property and its attributes, while paying particular attention to the key visual perspectives,
   2. Implementing systematic Heritage Impact Assessment mechanisms for any project planned or under way inside the buffer zone, and in the surrounding zones, that could have an impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property,
   3. Introducing building regulations in the urban expansion zone to the north-west of the buffer zone, by setting standards for scale and character. The aims of this regulation are to ensure the architectural compatibility of new buildings with the property, and to preserve views and the landscape,
   4. Ensuring that synergies are generated between the property management plan and the national and cantonal urban planning instruments, so as to incorporate urban planning guidelines that take into account visual axes and panoramas, in the urban planning of the buffer zone perimeter and its surrounding and territorial setting.