‘A PLACE ON THE WORLD STAGE’ …
ECONOMIC AND EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS OF WORLD HERITAGE SITE STATUS HIGHLIGHTED
The team spearheading an application to have Cornwall’s mining heartland designated as a World Heritage Site has been hearing from other areas of the UK about the potential boost to jobs and conservation funding which may follow the designation by the United Nations.

The UK Government and UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) will make the final decision on whether to accept Cornwall’s bid by 2005, but the 70 organisation partnership and the bid team based at Truro’s Old County Hall are already evaluating what World Heritage Site accreditation would mean for Cornwall. They have heard from several UK sites already ‘inscribed’ with the title, and news is encouraging on how it can secure conservation grants and attract visitors, creating and protecting jobs in heritage tourism and other sectors of the economy.

Councillor Phil Davis, the Leader of Telford and Wrekin Council, says that Telford’s Ironbridge Gorge was one of the first places in Britain to gain World Heritage Site status 15 years ago. He says, "It gets you a place on the world stage. It brings you visitors who see you as a premier destination in Europe and the UK, and it enables you to bid for grants to drive forward your regeneration process." He estimates that around 5,000 jobs in this area are secured by their association with the Ironbridge site and its coveted international status.

Bleanavon in South Wales is a much more recent World Heritage Site, but it, too, has seen a significant upturn in its fortunes. Project Director John Rodger has been sharing details of Bleanavon’s regeneration with Cornwall’s bid team, saying, "Cornish Mining is a much larger and more complex project than ours. WHS status brings recognition and makes a community feel valued. It enables you to build a future from the past."

Bleanavon, a depressed former coal mining community, saw WHS status as a vehicle towards a brighter future. £20 million worth of investment has been attracted, half of which is Welsh Assembly funding to improve traditional housing and to conserve or re-use derelict buildings.

Other industrial heritage sites which have rags to riches stories attributable to their new world status include:

  • Greenwich, with its historic park, observatory and maritime buildings, has seen the £100 million conversion of the former Naval College into University accommodation, and development of railway links to the City and central London.
  • The Hadrian’s Wall Tourism Forum has promoted sustainable tourism avoiding damage to the site itself, as well as a £7.5 million excavation of Roman fort remains near Newcastle, and funding to convert farm buildings to a residential education centre in Cumbria.
  • Derbyshire’s Derwent Valley is expecting inscription as a WHS in December, and claims the prospect has been a factor in attracting vital inward investment by firms like Toyota.

Bert Biscoe, County Council Executive Member for the Environment, says, "These case studies are clear evidence that World Heritage Site status can be a catalyst in regeneration. The custodians of sites are obliged to record, protect, preserve, present and promote. Cornwall is already well practised in this, but often has to do it on a shoestring. How much more we could do with WHS recognition - creating worthwhile jobs, securing preservation of Cornwall’s great industrial heritage, and telling our story for future generations."