New heritage plan to build on £750m investment in Liverpool’s UNESCO waterfront

Nearly £750m has been invested into historic assets within Liverpool’s Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site, according to a new report.

The state of conservation of the UNESCO-approved site is at its best in decades, a survey published by the city council has found.

The nine-figure sum spent on the area included the upgrade of 37 listed buildings.

Now, the council’s cabinet is set to back a new management plan to further improve conservation efforts and increase the site’s visitor appeal.

Once approved, the proposals will go before the World Heritage Committee when it next meets in July.

Prepared by heritage consultancy firm LOCUS Consulting alongside Historic England and views from the public, the management plan is one corrective measure the council has agreed with UNESCO to take the site off the ‘World Heritage In Danger’ list.

The cabinet report will be discussed next Friday (April 21) and highlights the efforts in conservation to date, hailing the authority’s ‘Buildings at Risk’ programme as the most successful project of its type in England, having slashed the number of ‘at risk’ buildings by 75% in the past decade.

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said: “Liverpool has made great strides to protect its World Heritage Site and in many ways the city has set a new bar in conservation efforts. We recognise more needs to be done to promote its appeal and raise awareness with the public and developers and this new management plan is an important step.

“Liverpool is a city undergoing a £11bn renaissance and we need to find the right balance where regeneration and conservation can complement each other.”

He added: “The Stanley Dock complex is a great example of how that can be achieved and I’m sure this plan sets out the right guidelines to ensure that template is adopted across the World Heritage Site.”

Details of the plan can be found here.

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