City officials to brief MPs about bid for Unesco recognition

York Council's archaeologist, John Oxley, and the authority's chief executive, Kersten England, will present the city's case to become a Unesco world heritage site.

They will outline details of the bid to MPs, members of the House of Lords and business and civic leaders at the meeting in Westminster.

One archaeologist supporting the bid, Dr Peter Addyman, said: "The fact that York is not a world heritage site comes as a major surprise to most people.

"This meeting is to brief MPs and others on the city's archaeological richness, which in our view certainly qualifies York to be a world heritage site. Our aim is to put this anomaly right."

York's bid focuses on the quality and importance of archaeological deposits found in the city and the unique preservation of wood, leather and wax artefacts as a result of the waterlogged conditions.

York Council announced in June details of the formal application. If successful, the city would rank alongside other global treasures including the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and the Statue of Liberty.

The bid is among another 37 schemes – including the landscape of Bront country and the village of Haworth – hoping to be accepted on the UK's initial list of potential nominations. A shortlist will be announced next year before the top-placed nomination is submitted to a Unesco committee in 2012.

The UK currently has 28 world heritage sites, including Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire, and Saltaire in West Yorkshire, Stonehenge, Canterbury Cathedral, Hadrian's Wall, Edinburgh and Bath.