Decision 41 COM 7A.22

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

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decisions 37 COM 7A.35, 38 COM 7A.19, 39 COM 7A.43, and 40 COM 7A.31, adopted at its 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013), 38th (Doha, 2014), 39th (Bonn, 2015), and 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016) sessions respectively,
3. Notes with regret that the implementation of the Liverpool Waters scheme has started with the granting of planning permission for a 34 storey tower at Princes Dock and that the State Party acknowledges that it cannot accede to the Committee’s request to limit granting of further planning permissions that impact adversely on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
4. Considers that the recent planning permissions at Liverpool Waters scheme and elsewhere, and the stated inability of the State Party to control further developments clearly reflect inadequate governance systems and planning mechanisms that undermine protection and management and therefore fail to sustain the OUV of the property;
5. Recalls that it has repeatedly expressed its serious concerns over the impact of the proposed Liverpool Waters development, as it would irreversibly damage the attributes of OUV and conditions of integrity of the property; and also recalls that it already considered possible deletion of the property (Decisions 36 COM 7B.39 and 37 COM 7A.35) due to the potential threat brought by Liverpool Waters development to the OUV, including the authenticity and integrity of the property;
6. Although noting that the State Party has proposed a draft Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), also regrets that this draft does not provide a comprehensive desired state of conservation nor appropriate corrective measures, and remains a statement of process instead of acknowledging the importance of protecting key attributes which contribute to the OUV of the property, and the significance of the context of the property and its buffer zone;
7. Notes that all stakeholders recognize the serious concerns of the World Heritage Committee over the potential threat of the Liverpool Waters development scheme to the OUV of the property;
8. Requests the State Party to clarify whether a further DSOCR can be defined in line with previous recommendations, and further recalls that submission of a further draft of the DSOCR by the State Party and its approval by the Committee should come prior to the finalization and approval of the necessary planning tools and regulatory framework;
9. Also requests the State Party to submit, only if it confirms the feasibility of revising the draft DSOCR in line with previous recommendations by the Committee, a revised draft of the DSOCR to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2018, for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, as requested in Decision 40 COM 7A.31, and to include the approval of the Local Plan and the revised Management Plan as part of the agreed implementation plan for the corrective measures;
10. Further requests the State Party to progress in the establishment of clearly defined attributes that contribute to OUV and substantive commitments to limitation on the quantity, location and size of allowable built form and linking the strategic city development vision to a regulatory planning document, which provides legal guidelines on protection of OUV;
11. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 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 42nd session in 2018, with a view to considering the deletion of this property from the World Heritage List at its 42nd session if the State Party does not:
    1. Reverse course and stop the granting of planning permissions which have a negative impact on the OUV of the property,
    2. Provide substantive commitments to limitation on the quantity, location and size of allowable built form,
    3. Link the strategic city development vision to a regulatory planning document,
    4. Submit, lastly, a DSOCR and corrective measures in a form that might be considered for adoption by the Committee;
12. Decides to retain Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.