The government said in the heritage white paper, Heritage Protection for the 21st Century (March 2007) that they would issue a planning circular ‘which will further recognise in national policy the need to protect World Heritage Sites as sites of outstanding universal value, and will make more prominent the need to create a management plan for each WHS, including, where needed, the delineation of a buffer zone around it’. 

The draft planning circular was published by the Department for Communities and Local Government for public consultation on 27 May.  It provides updated policy guidance on the level of protection and management required for World Heritage Sites.  It explains the national context and the Government’s objectives for the protection of World Heritage Sites, the principles which underpin those objectives, and the actions necessary to achieve them.
 
The draft circular is supplemented and supported by a draft English Heritage Guidance Note which was published with the circular.  The Note focuses on the protection and management of World Heritage Sites.  It sets out the international and national context of World Heritage Sites, considers the role of the planning system and sustainable community strategies in their protection, and explains the role and preparation of World Heritage Site Management Plans.  It also covers the ways in which the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre can become involved in the management of World Heritage Sites and sets out how these contacts should be handled.

The draft circular and guidance note can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.

Comments on both the circular and the Guidance note should be sent to CLG. 

If you wish to comment, your response should be sent to:

Phil Weatherby
PSI Zone1/G10
Eland House
Bressenden Place
London SW1E 5DU 

or by e-mail to: 

phil.weatherby@communities.gsi.gov.uk

The closing date for the consultation is 22 August 2008.

Alternative formats can be requested directly from the CLG website:
www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/worldheritagesitesconsultation.

 

Westminster World Heritage Management Plan

English Heritage has announced the publication of the first ever Management Plan for Westminster World Heritage Site

The new Management Plan has been created by a steering group chaired by English Heritage and made up of stakeholders including the Government Office for London, the Greater London Authority, Westminster and Lambeth Councils, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey and the Parliamentary Estates Directorate.

The Plan starts with a detailed description of the site, summarising the history and development of the buildings and institutions that form it, and a statement of significance which sets out what aspects of the site are important and why. A section on issues and risks encompasses everything from traffic to tourism. The Plan ends with a vision for the site and an implementation plan. The document is designed to be reviewed periodically and to complement existing policies developed by the site owners and managers as well as Westminster City Council and the GLA.