World Heritage UK (WHUK) SIG - annual report to LGA Board 2025

• Lead Member: Paul Simons, Chair of Board of Trustees
• Lead Officer: Alex McCoskrie, General Manager
• Email: [email protected] [email protected]
• Address: World Heritage UK c/o Chappell Associates, Westfield House, Bratton Rd, Westbury BA13 3EP
• Telephone: 07585 971 749
• Website: www.worldheritageuk.org

World Heritage UK (WHUK) is the only organisation exclusively focused on World Heritage (WH) in the UK, and the only one led by the World Heritage Sites (WHS) themselves, our members. Founded in 2015 as a development of the Local Authority World Heritage Forum, this approach reflects a community-driven approach that has proven effective at many WHS and which is favoured by UNESCO.

Our Vision is that WH and WHSs in the UK are better known and understood, have a coherent approach to their management and protection, and supported through sustainable funding, in order that their Outstanding Universal Values can provide inspiration, learning and enjoyment for all and contribute to the UK’s standing in the world.

Our Mission is to raise the profile and secure the future of the UK collection of WHSs by advocating for support, resources and recognition, facilitating learning and networking, and promoting WH and the Sites and their values.

Since WHUK was established in 2015 we have worked to deliver three strategic aims centred on advocacy, sector development and engagement. 

We have developed those aims in response to the changing circumstances in which WHUK operates as follows:

• 1. Advocacy: to undertake effective advocacy at all levels for the joint benefit of the UK’s WHSs and for the World Heritage Convention
• 2. Sector development: to facilitate and build learning and networking for and between organisations and individuals within the WH sector, for the benefit of the UK’s collection of WHSs, their communities, and the UK as a whole
• 3. Engagement and communications: to build awareness and knowledge of, and engagement with, the UK’s collection of WHSs and their values, with local communities and stakeholders, and key domestic and international partners

Our Charitable Aims are to celebrate and protect our natural and cultural World Heritage; for everyone to enjoy our nation’s heritage – by visiting and exploring, volunteering and championing, learning, understanding and valuing, and getting involved.

How WHUK supports LGA’s themes and priorities:

Themes

A sustainable financial future – WHUK promotes WH and WHSs with key national and local decision makers, funding bodies and politicians, to advocate for better understanding and valuing of, and investment in WHSs

Stronger local economies, thriving local democracy – WHUK works to support World Heritage Sites (WHSs) to ensure that they contribute to their local economies, through income from visitors, using WH status to drawn down additional external funding (e.g. NLHF, Levelling Up etc) and attracting investment; WHUK supports WHSs to manage their sites through partnerships, often involving stakeholders from a variety of sectors, including local government

Putting people first – WHSs are required by UNESCO to engage their communities. WHUK works with sites to build awareness and knowledge of World Heritage and the site locally, and build interaction and engagement by local communities with WH and their local WHS

Championing climate change and local environments – WHUK works with and supports WHSs and their partners, to mitigate for the consequences of climate change, adapt for climate change, and support nature recovery and biodiversity.

World Heritage UK (WHUK)’s April 2024 – March 2025 highlights:

Our spring 2024 workshop Bangor University focused on ‘Industrial World Heritage’ and is well attended and well received; includes speakers from Liverpool and Cardiff Universities, VisitBritain, Deloitte, Federal Foreign Office Berlin and more

Our 2024 annual conference in Redruth, explored how to make the most of World Heritage. Well attended and received and featured speakers from United Kingdom National Commission for UNESCO, Harlow Consulting, Lathams, CBA Consultants, the National Trust, Cornish Metals and many more

WHUK continued to deliver webinar series, that focus on particular WHS clusters or topics pertinent to WHSs; this year included a series of 7 talks from Industrial World Heritage Sites and a series of 4 on cathedrals and abbeys within WHSs

Following WHUK’s pilot project exploring the levels of community engagement across a number of WHSs, a second phase of this project Realising the Benefits of World Heritage to Local Communities received funding from Historic England to expand its scope and delivery. This phase will start 1 April 2025 and will include a dedicated project manager to take this project forward for two and a half years

WHUK supported The Heritage Alliance through participation on their specialist working groups – Spatial Planning Advisory Group and the International Advisory Group

WHUK, as a member of the Historic Environment Forum (HEF), worked with other senior heritage leaders, to foster research, conservation and presentation of, and political engagement with all aspects of the heritage environment

WHUK, as a member of DCMS’ World Heritage Advisory Group (WHAG), advises and steers the State Party in all aspects of delivery of the WH Convention. WHAG comprises leaders and decision makers from NDPBs (heritage and environment) and central governmental departments

WHUK continues to work closely with and provide strategic lead for the European Network of World Heritage Associations, a union of associations and initiatives that regularly exchange information and experience about the World Heritage. The aim is to raise general awareness of European World Heritage, to advocate its protection and conservation, and to discuss common issues and topics using an open and transparent approach

WHUK has been working on the development of a new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) that will focus on World Heritage in the UK. We are expecting this APPG to be up and running at the beginning of the new year. We hope that the APPG will build awareness, understanding and valuing of WHSs in the UK

WHUK hosted the WHS Chairs meeting, with updates from NDPBs and discussions on management of WHSs. WHS Chairs includes representatives from councils including Telford & Wrekin, Wiltshire, Bath & NE Somerset, Orkney Islands Council, Westminster City, Canterbury City, City of Edinburgh, Royal Greenwich, Bradford, Cornwall and Wrexham County Borough