Why Unesco decision to strip Liverpool of world heritage status sets worrying precedent – Stephen Naylor

It is a city I love, and that love is shared by people from across this country and beyond.

That is why the decision from Unesco to remove World Heritage Status is bizarre.

What Unesco seem to be saying is that they never want any place to evolve, they want heritage to be static.

But, of course, it never is.

Heritage evolves because it has to adapt to survive.

We know that here in Yorkshire very well. I’m proud to be an Ambassador for The Piece Hall in Halifax – it is one of the world’s most impressive buildings and we are lucky to have it on our doorsteps.

But, when I was growing up, I remember it being a place that, frankly, was grim.

It was a way of getting somewhere

else in Halifax not a place you would want to go in itself.

Today, of course, it is a destination – not just for people in the town, but for people across Yorkshire, the UK and (when we are allowed to travel again) around the world.

It has been transformed and changed into a place where history lives and memories are made.

It is exactly what is happening right now down the M62 in Liverpool With the proposals, such as Everton’s new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, are all about making an already vibrant city more vibrant.

Anyone unsure of the value of Liverpool’s waterfront only needs to look at it to see how important and how

impressive it is.

Whether you view it across the Mersey from the Wirral where I was born, and see a panorama that never fails to inspire, or view it by walking along the river from dock to dock seeing the huge changes that have taken place, you take in the culture and history of a city that has seen so much over the years.

Up to now, Unesco has been unwilling to listen to the well-reasoned and clear arguments of Liverpool’s leaders and

unwilling to engage in any discussion.

Indeed, as the city’s mayor Joanne Anderson has said, it comes “a decade after they last visited the city to see it with their own eyes”.

The best thing Liverpool can do – and what I am sure they will do – is to carry on regardless, to show Unesco why

they are wrong, and to bring the benefits of the investment and redevelopment that is happening right now to

everyone in the city.

Because, and this is the key question – will the city of the Beatles, the Liver Birds and football now see a drop in visitors because it’s been removed from a list of what an unaccountable organisation thinks are the most important heritage sites in the world?

I doubt it.

In fact, I think many will see the coverage of the decision, accompanied by pictures of a stunning skyline and a stunning city, and decide that they want to see for themselves what Liverpool has to offer.

I hope people do, and when they do they will no doubt agree with me that the city is one of the greatest in the world with one of the most impressive waterfronts in the world and with one of the most important stories to tell – of its past, yes, but also of its future.

Like is happening at the Piece Hall and in Liverpool, we need to be adventurous with our history to keep it alive.

Standing still is not an option in a world that changes so fast.

It’s a shame that the organisation that says it wants to be a guardian of the past does so little to guarantee the future.

Stephen Naylor is a director of PR consultancy Waverley and an ambassador for The Piece Hall.

BACKGROUND

LIVERPOOL was named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in 2004, joining places including the Taj Mahal, Egypt’s Pyramids and Canterbury Cathedral.

Following a secret ballot this week, the World Heritage Committee voted to remove the site from the list. Announcing the decision, committee chairman Tian Xuejun said 13 votes had been cast in favour of deleting the city, five had been against the proposal and two ballot papers had been invalid.

The committee, made up of representatives of 21 countries, make the decision after a report said “inadequate governance processes, mechanisms, and regulations for new developments in and around the World Heritage property” resulted in “serious deterioration and irreversible loss of attributes”.

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