Factors affecting the Site
Development Pressures
The nominated Site is a living cultural landscape in which we must
expect and allow for evolution, growth and decline. There is a
determined agenda for social and economic change across Cornwall and
West Devon driven by the Objective One Programme, Objective Two,
regional and local government strategies. This will bring direct
pressures on some areas of the nominated Site, particularly in urban
centres such as Hayle and Camborne-Pool-Redruth, which have been
identified for major development. World Heritage Site Inscription can be
used as a tool to encourage sensitive development and key to this is
relating new development to local character. In Cornwall and West Devon
it has been identified that sustainable heritage-led regeneration is
both an Aim, and an Issue which is explored further in the Management
Plan. World Heritage Site Inscription can make a positive contribution
to the economic growth and prosperity of Cornwall and West Devon. So
while there is without doubt development pressure, much of this will be
positive regeneration of former mining land and mining communities.
The major redevelopment of Camborne-Pool-Redruth is a strategic priority
and an Urban Regeneration Company has been established to drive this
forward guided by an Urban Framework Plan. English Heritage have
commissioned an historic urban survey report to inform redevelopment in
this area. The URC Business Plan and Urban Framework Plan recognise the
importance of the strong heritage, local distinctiveness, and high
quality design in shaping a sustainable future for this area, and these
aims are consistent with those of the nominated Site.
Housing
There is substantial housing pressure in Cornwall and West Devon as a
result of an increasing population, household growth, and surge in
second home ownership. New affordable housing is a serious issue for the
region and is needed to sustain social and economic regeneration and
future prosperity. Most new housing is likely to be on former brownfield
sites within the existing urban envelopes and on the periphery of urban
and major village settlements.
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Industrial,
commercial and leisure development
To add value to goods in Cornwall and West Devon, to foster start-up
companies and expand niche markets, new business parks are required
which could include re-use of former mine sites, for example the
existing and proposed development at Wheal Kitty, St Agnes. Ports and
harbours are subject to pressures for new facilities to improve and
extend commercial and leisure use, most typically in the form of marinas
to service the leisure and tourism industry.
Conversion and adaptive re-use of historic
buildings
The majority of former mining structures within the nominated Site are
either by nature or location unsuitable for adaptive re-use and will be
conserved as monuments. However some of the housing, business and
commercial growth could include conversion of historic buildings, which
might vary from increased use of upper storeys over shops in historic
towns, conversion of former industrial premises (engineering works and
factories) to offices and homes. Inappropriate conversion resulting in
loss of character poses a threat which needs to be balanced with the
benefits of losing historic buildings altogether through neglect.
Lack of maintenance and neglect of historic fabric
A serious threat across such a large nominated Site arises from simple
neglect of historic structures particularly those that have no economic
use. Buildings that are unused and do not receive maintenance quickly
become susceptible to the elements and decay can be surprisingly rapid. |
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Incremental alterations to historic built fabric
Nonavailability or the higher costs associated with the use of
traditional building materials, combined with locally depressed
economies can result in the widespread use of inappropriate materials,
finishes and detailing in works undertaken to many private dwellings. In
some areas this can lead to a significant loss of urban historic
character. The new Part L of the Building Regulations aims to improve
energy efficiency in buildings but in the interpretation one has to
recognise and balance the special interest of historic buildings to
avoid erosion of
historic character.
Resumption of
mining and mineral processing
There is no presumption in principle against mining in the nominated
Site provided that the outstanding universal value is conserved or
enhanced. A resumption of mining could add to the evolving cultural
landscape and authenticity of the nominated Site. There are currently no
active mines in Cornwall and West Devon however in the event of a
significant upturn in tin prices, there might be an interest in the
reopening and the re-prospection of mines. Proposals for resumption of
mining in Cornwall and West Devon would need to satisfy the normal
environmental and planning requirements. Cornwall and Devon Minerals
Plans (Mineral Development Frameworks) safeguard long term access to
mineral reserves and balances mineral and commercial interests with
environmental and
conservation concerns. There are currently proposals for the resumption
of mining activity at South Crofty by Baseresult Holdings who have
submitted a Review of Mineral Permission application under the
Environment Act 1995 to the Mineral Planning Authority. South Crofty Tin
Mine is outside the nominated Site but development on this site could
affect the setting.
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Removal of secondary minerals (mineral working
deposits)
Removal of secondary minerals from waste dumps is permitted under the
Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (GPDO)
unless the mineral planning authority issues an Article 7 Direction to
remove these rights and trigger a planning application. If planning
permission is refused then the mineral planning authority is liable for
compensation. The imposition of the Aggregates Tax has created renewed
interest in old mineral dumps because they are exempt from the Tax which
is directed at primary aggregates. Removal of mine and quarry waste is
actively encouraged by the Aggregates Tax to deter the working of new
deposits where there are existing stockpiles of material that could be
used. At the same time the historical and continuing mineralogical value
of old mineral dumps is being recognised and the nominated Site includes
many such sites.
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Agriculture and forestry
Outside the towns and villages, the majority of the land in the
nominated Site is currently used for agriculture and forestry. Much of
the area where mining remains survive well is now open moorland
predominantly used for grazing, while other parts of the nominated Site
are enclosed farmland. Some demands of farming can be damaging to the
historic remains on the nominated Site. For example in the past some
mineshafts have been unsympathetically filled or capped to avoid stock
losses. |
In addition,
recent changes to the farming industry may mean a gradual reduction in
stocking rates in areas of grazing, which could lead to scrub growth
obscuring and damaging historic features. The introduction of energy
crops could pose a threat to the landscape by obscuring
and damaging historic mine sites and changing its historic character.
Woodland Grant Schemes which promote planting of new woodland can
potentially change the character of the landscape. This would be
particularly damaging in areas of miners’ smallholdings which have
historically been cleared for agriculture.
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Environmental Pressures
Biodiversity
The disturbance and metalliferous contamination of former mined
land has resulted in environmental conditions that favour restricted and
specialised habitats and species, in particular heathland and bare
ground suitable for colonization by specialist lower plants. Many of
these habitats contain species of international conservation value, for
example petalwort. Many habitats have been given protection, for
example, national Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified by
English Nature under the Wildlife and Countryside Acts of 1981 (as
amended) or local Wildlife Sites designated through Structure and Local
plans. The biological composition and character of the majority of these
habitats is in transition, very slowly succeeding through a vegetational
succession (towards scrub and woodland). The primary aim of all
management for biodiversity is to retain a representative mosaic of
characteristic habitats and, at a minimum, sustain existing populations
of rare and scarce species. In some cases, existing environmental
factors, for example substrate chemistry and exposure, maintain these
habitats and species, but the majority require active management,
usually grazing, to maintain their character and quality. |
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It is important that
biodiversity conservation values and management regimes do not conflict
with the overall conservation of the nominated Site. The cultural
integrity and value of the area is now dependent upon the development of
an integrated policy and management framework, based upon management at
the landscape scale. Within this, if it is done well, there are
significant opportunities to provide real and sustainable gains for
agriculture, archaeology and biodiversity, which will ensure the
continuing quality of the nominated Site. |
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Contamination
The nominated Site contains some of
the most polluted land in the United Kingdom. The responsibilities of
the Environment Agency together with European Union legislation
controlling acceptable levels of heavy metals within watercourses or
groundwater may result in pressure to tackle contamination pathways
between mine waste disposal areas, mine drainage systems and
hydrological systems which provide sources of drinking water for humans
or animals, or which discharge into the marine environment. Such methods
of de-contamination could cause disturbance to mine sites within the
nominated Site.
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Risk
Preparedness and Natural Disasters
Fire
The majority of surviving mine structures are constructed of
stone, but a small number of particularly important sites incorporate
timber buildings (e.g. Geevor, King
Edward Mine, Robinson’s Shaft), retain important floor, roof and other
detailing or machinery (Levant whim, Mitchell’s, Taylor’s and Robinson’s
engine houses) or incorporate historically important original timber
roof elements (e.g. Perran Foundry, Wheal Busy Smithy). All are
vulnerable to fire, as has been demonstrated by the destruction by arson
of the early 20th century steam winder house at Robinson’s Shaft.
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Theft,
disposal or damage to artefacts and archives
A number of important
artefacts and collections of archive material which document and
illustrate the nominated Site are held in private collections. There is
a thriving market for such items, which may be vulnerable to sale,
disposal into collections without public access or theft. Private
archives and collections are also inherently far more vulnerable to
accidental damage than those in appropriately housed, conserved and
protected public collections.
Mineral collection
With the cessation of active mining, the supply of minerals for research
has been significantly curtailed. The stock of existing mine dumps and
accessible underground sites are, by definition, a finite and
non-replaceable resource. Minerals from such sites are also gathered for
private collections or for sale, which can cause depletion and
disturbance. In extreme cases mechanical excavators and power tools have
been used, in part to supply an international trade, now dominated by
internet sites. However the conservation and study of mineral sites by
organisations with an interest in responsible recreational and
scientific collecting (for example Russell Society) helps promote good
practice and self-policing of sites.
Natural disaster
Cornwall and West Devon are not prone to major earthquakes or volcanic
activity, devastating forest fires, massive flooding or tidal waves,
although extreme weather conditions, e.g. localised flooding, and
related events are increasing as a result of global warming. Sea level
rise resulting from global warming is unlikely to directly impact the
nominated Site in the short term, although increased coastal erosion and
the environmental effects of changing weather patterns may need to be
taken into account in management plans for a number of coastal sites.
Equally the United Kingdom Shoreline Management Plans may need to make
better provision for heritage issues particularly in the nominated Site.
Incidences of mining
subsidence within hard rock mining areas are rare, and are generally
confined to poorly-secured mine shafts or ground instability resulting
from near-surface mine workings. Although there are recorded instances
of such events damaging or destroying historical mine structures, such
events are exceptionally rare and not considered likely to pose a
significant risk to components of the nominated Site. The majority of
the sites for which public access is proposed have been subjected to
geotechnical survey to determine the public risk from mine subsidence
and remediation measures undertaken to the small number of features
considered likely to pose such dangers.
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Risk
assessment
Risk is the threat that an event or action will adversely affect the
ability to achieve objectives. In the case of the nominated Site, risks
are present in the physical Site itself and in the implementation of the
Management Plan. The World Heritage Site Office needs to undertake a
risk assessment of its own strategic and operational functions relating
to the Management Plan. The World Heritage Site Office will use the
Cornwall County Council risk management cycle contained in its Risk
Management Strategy and will be guided by the Cornwall County Council
Emergency Planning Officer on the carrying out of this assessment and
the implementation of its recommendations. Action Plans for those risks
identified which will be passed to the Cornwall County Council Strategic
Risk Management Group for inclusion in the corporate risk framework.In order to assess the
significance of all risks and to mitigate them it is necessary for a
risk assessment to be carried out using adopted procedures.
Responsibility for risk assessment lies with individual owners and
managers. The World Heritage Site Office will need to be proactive in
encouraging owners and managers to undertake risk assessment and relate
these to its own strategic and operational risk assessment. |
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Risk management begins with
identifying risks, evaluating their potential consequences and
determining the most effective methods of managing or responding to
them. This might include producing Fire Action Plans for significant
historic buildings, particularly those containing machinery or timber
roofs, and providing data on the nominated Site to the fire service to
inform their response to incidents. It may also involve checking
Disaster Plans for archive and museum collections are in place (e.g.
Cornwall Record Office, The Cornwall Centre, Courtney Library). Cornwall
County Council’s Emergency Planning Officer coordinates emergency
planning across the six districts in Cornwall and similarly the Devon
Emergency
Planning Officer in West
Devon. The World Heritage Site Office will liaise with the Emergency
Planning Officers on integrating the nominated Site into the existing
Crisis Management Teams and reporting mechanisms at the appropriate
level, so that in the event of an incident the World Heritage Site
Office is involved in decisions which may affect the outstanding
universal value. (A similar process will be applied in West Devon).
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Visitor/tourism pressures
With appropriate marketing,
World Heritage Site inscription will result in increased visitor usage.
This needs to be seen in the context of existing targets for growth of
the tourism sector in the region generally, as the nominated Site could
make a significant contribution not only to the economic benefits
derived from this growth, but also to strategies to manage the impact of
tourism on the environment. The candidate World Heritage Site is a
member of the Cornwall Sustainable Tourism Project, which aims to
encourage the existing, and foster an increase in, sustainable behaviour
within the tourism industry.
Recent policies pursued by
local authorities and tourism agencies in Cornwall and West Devon are
designed to extend the region’s visitor season from the traditional peak
months of July and August, when traffic congestion is sometimes severe,
into the "shoulder" months of spring and autumn, when there is capacity
to accommodate more visitors. The strategies also aim to increase income
from tourism by developing the cultural tourism markets, which are less
high-season focussed.
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The development of the
proposed Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site
will complement this strategy by providing visitor experiences which
interpret authentic Cornish culture and heritage and appeal to these
markets. The World Heritage Site Marketing Strategy differentiates
between those nominated Site areas that are suitable for and can sustain
an increase in visitors and those where this would not be appropriate,
and includes the development of a visitor management strategy as a key
objective.
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In addition to road traffic
pressures, agencies concerned with the care of Cornwall’s natural
assets, including the County Council, the National Trust and the
Cornwall and Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, have
identified erosion of footpaths as a key concern. Measures to deal with
this are already in place as part of their respective management plans.
World Heritage Site status would help to secure public support for these
by highlighting the historical significance of the nominated Areas and
justifying action taken to conserve them.
Other potential pressures
deriving from visitor access to sites within the nominated Site include:
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During the lifespan of the
Management Plan the World Heritage Site Office will work with owners,
operators and agencies concerned with the management of visitor
facilities within the nominated Site areas to define individual area
marketing and interpretation plans that take into account their
particular circumstances, including capacity for growth, and set
appropriate actions and targets. In some areas this will involve
substituting greater access to information about some sites (e.g.
through publications and websites), instead of promoting further
physical access to them. Each nominated Site Area marketing plan will
address the following identified pressures: |
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Authenticity of experience
– marketing plans must balance authenticity in interpreting mining
heritage with contemporary environmental concerns. A range of
interpretation and presentation techniques will need to be employed to
convey the authentic experience whilst protecting their present
atmosphere.
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Traffic management – the
South West region generally, but Cornwall in particular, experiences
severe traffic flow problems in July and August. World Heritage Site
status, if granted, will be used to support shoulder month initiatives
linked to the tourism markets for landscape, heritage and cultural
appreciation, and in so doing contribute to strategies to spread
visitor numbers more evenly throughout the year. Marketing plans will
include active promotion of rail, bus and cycle access to sites.
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Public safety – where
relevant, mine site safety guidelines will be provided, including
advice regarding arsenic and other contaminants.
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Quality of design – where
visitor facilities are developed they will be expected to follow the
principles of sympathetic design. In towns within the proposed World
Heritage Site where the Cornwall and Scilly Urban Survey or Cornwall
Industrial Settlements Initiative have established the urban landscape
character this should be reflected in any development proposals. In
rural areas a range of existing controls, e.g. through the Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Plans, are already in place to
exert control over the quality and appropriateness of proposed
developments.
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Protection of wildlife –
interpretation and visitor access should not result in the loss of
significant habitats or other threats to species diversity.
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Equality of opportunity –
in compliance with the Disabilities Discrimination Act, action to
ensure World Heritage Site visitor information and services are
accessible to all will be prioritised. Marketing plans should identify
the range of target audiences to be served, including local residents
within the proposed World Heritage Site and develop pricing and access
policies which take into account economic circumstances.
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Optimum economic benefit –
to ensure that the proposed World Heritage Site visitor management
strategy contributes to the wider economic regeneration agenda, each
individual nominated Area marketing plan will be developed in
consultation with the Integrated Area Partnerships, District Councils
and regional agencies.
Inhabitants within the property
Within the ten nominated
Areas there are an estimated 81,535 residents; 26,531 of these live
within the Camborne and Redruth Area. Awareness of the World Heritage
Site Bid has been raised through a Communication Plan which identified
different audiences and interest groups within Cornwall and West Devon
and appropriate methods of disseminating information to these. This has
included a number of articles in the press, television coverage, over 20
talks to local societies and community groups by members of the Bid team
and Officer Working Group, and numerous visits to the Cornish Mining
website, which has generated enquiries from overseas, particularly from
those descended from migrant Cornish miners.
Wider participation,
particularly by residents within the World Heritage Site bid Areas, is
actively sought and managed through the Cornwall and West Devon Mining
Landscape Consultation Strategy and Programme. This recognises that, for
a proposed World Heritage Site with 10 Areas and the number and variety
of communities within these, effective participation requires utilising
existing successful consultation mechanisms, including those established
by local authorities in developing Community Strategies and other local
priority setting exercises. The World Heritage Site Consultation
Programme includes formally constituted community authorities, such as
Town and Parish Councils, Integrated Area Partnerships, set up to advise
on priorities for Objective One investment, and questionnaires
distributed to the Cornwall People’s Panel. In addition, all existing
community strategies and plans will be assessed to influence the
implementation of the management plan and to identify how World Heritage
Site status could contribute to achieving agreed development priorities.
This programme has been integrated into the Management Plan, as a five
year commitment from 2004 to 2009, to guide drafting, implementation and
ongoing monitoring. Morwellham situated in the Tamar Valley Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty. |
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