Decision 44 COM 7A.34: Deletion of 'Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City' from the World Heritage List (2021)

Summary

On 21 July 2021, at its extended 44th session, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided in Decision 44 COM 7A.34 to delete 'Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City' (United Kingdom) from the World Heritage List. UNESCO's news release gives the reason as 'irreversible loss of attributes conveying the outstanding universal value', and states that the property had been inscribed in 2004 and placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2012 over the proposed Liverpool Waters development, and that Liverpool is the third property to lose World Heritage status, after the Elbe Valley in Dresden (Germany) and the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary (Oman). The decision regrets that inadequate governance of new developments caused serious and irreversible loss, names the Liverpool Waters project and other large works, and says an approved stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock adds to the threat.

Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Legal basis

The decision is taken by the World Heritage Committee under the 1972 World Heritage Convention. Article 11(4) of the Convention provides for a List of World Heritage in Danger for properties threatened by 'serious and specific dangers', which the Article lists as including 'large-scale public or private projects', 'rapid urban or tourist development projects' and 'the outbreak or the threat of an armed conflict'; Article 11(4) also lets the Committee make a new entry 'at any time, in case of urgent need'. Article 4 says the duty of identifying, protecting, conserving, presenting and transmitting heritage 'belongs primarily to that State'. In Decision 44 COM 7A.34 the Committee recalls Article 6.1 of the Convention (heritage as a duty of the international community as a whole) and regrets that the State Party had not fulfilled its obligations under the Convention. Only Articles 4, 6 and 11 were checked; whether the Convention or the Operational Guidelines set out a deletion procedure was not established, and the Operational Guidelines paragraphs on deletion could not be opened and are not quoted here.

Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Outcome

Decision 44 COM 7A.34 (extended 44th session, 2021) decides to delete 'Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)' from the World Heritage List. Before that operative paragraph the Committee: expresses serious concern at the Liverpool Waters development under the approved outline planning consent; regrets 'inadequate governance processes, mechanisms, and regulations for new developments' and the resulting serious and irreversible loss of attributes conveying the Outstanding Universal Value; regrets that its earlier appeals did not protect the property; says the approved football stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock adds to the threat; and records that the State Party itself indicated no legal and other means are available in the governance of the property to comply with all the Committee's requests. UNESCO's State of Conservation page records Decision 44 COM 8C.4 as removing the property from the Danger List and deleting it from the World Heritage List. Vote: the Committee's decision pages and UNESCO's news release mention no vote. Boston Globe and Al Jazeera report a secret ballot; Ahram Online alone (in a report that it attributes to AFP) reports 13 in favour and 5 against; this count is single-source and unofficial. No official tally was found.

Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, The Boston Globe, Al Jazeera, Ahram Online

Timeline

1. 2004
   Liverpool inscribed on the World Heritage List

   UNESCO's 2021 news release states the property was inscribed in 2004. (The 2004 inscription decision itself was not read for this entry.)

   Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre

2. 2012
   Committee inscribes the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger (36 COM 7B.93)

   The Committee noted that Liverpool City Council was inclined to approve the developer's application for the Liverpool Waters development, expressed serious concern about the potential threat to the property's Outstanding Universal Value, considered the development a potential danger and decided to inscribe the property on the Danger List. The decision stated that the property could be deleted from the World Heritage List if the current project was approved and implemented. It asked for a desired state of conservation for removal from the Danger List and a report by 1 February 2013.

   Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre

3. 2013 (consent period 2013-2042)
   Outline Planning Consent for Liverpool Waters

   Decision 43 COM 7A.47 refers to the 'Outline Planning Consent' for Liverpool Waters covering 2013-2042 and describes the resulting developments as an ascertained threat. The exact date of the consent was not read from a planning record.

   Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre

4. 2019
   Committee retains the Danger listing and warns of possible deletion (43 COM 7A.47)

   The Committee reiterated serious concern about the Liverpool Waters developments, expressed extreme concern that no moratorium on new buildings had been adopted, and found that recent planning permissions and the State Party's stated inability to control development reflected inadequate governance and planning mechanisms. It kept the property on the Danger List and stated that it would consider deleting it from the World Heritage List at its 44th session if the requirements on a desired state of conservation and a moratorium were not met.

   Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre

5. February-March 2021
   Everton stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock approved

   UNESCO's 2021 State of Conservation page records that a full planning application was submitted in December 2019, that the State Party notified the Secretariat in February 2020, that Liverpool City Council approved the project in February 2021, and that media reports indicated approval by the UK Secretary of State in March 2021. It quotes ICOMOS advice that the proposal 'would have a completely unacceptable major adverse impact on the authenticity and integrity' of the property.

   Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre

6. 21 July 2021
   Extended 44th session adopts Decision 44 COM 7A.34 and deletes the property

   The Committee, at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou and online, per UNESCO's news release), decided to delete 'Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City' from the World Heritage List. The decision regrets, among other points, 'inadequate governance processes, mechanisms, and regulations for new developments' leading to serious and irreversible loss of attributes conveying the Outstanding Universal Value, that the approved stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock adds to the threat, and that the State Party has indicated that no legal and other means are available in the governance of the property to comply with all the Committee's requests. Decision 44 COM 8C.4 ('Update of the List of World Heritage in Danger') is recorded on UNESCO's State of Conservation page as removing the property from the Danger List and deleting it from the World Heritage List.

   Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UNESCO World Heritage Centre

7. 21 July 2021
   Vote as reported by media; British government and city reactions

   Boston Globe and Al Jazeera report a secret ballot; Ahram Online (AFP copy) alone reports 13 votes in favour and 5 against, which is an unofficial, single-source count. UNESCO's decision page, news release and State of Conservation page do not mention a vote. An unnamed British government spokesperson was reported as expressing disappointment (Boston Globe) and 'extremely disappointed' (Ahram Online). Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson issued a statement the same day.

   Sources: The Boston Globe, Al Jazeera, Ahram Online, Liverpool Express

Connected pages

• United Kingdom — State Party to the Convention; the property was located in Liverpool, England
• Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City — heritage site