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UK World Heritage Sites

: I would like to go there as well, if the Minister will take me with him. Twenty-one UK world heritage sites are cultural sites, four are natural sites and one, St. Kilda, is both a cultural and a natural site. During its 21 years in the convention, the UK has gone through three distinct phases of site development. During the first phase, from 1984 to about 1989, we nominated obvious monumental iconic sites in the UK—for example, Stonehenge, Avebury and the Tower of London—without much thought to the consequences for managing such places in the future. During the second phase, from 1989 to 1997, we realised after a series of planning appeals that world heritage status was a significant factor in the management and sustainable use of places such as Avebury, Ironbridge and Hadrian's wall. We started to consider other places, as well as the obvious monumental iconic sites, and that led in 1994 to planning policy guidance note 15, which stated that world heritage sites were a key material consideration in planning cases. It asked local authorities to develop policies to protect them and recommended that they draw up management plans as well. Management plans are now a key feature of the UK's approach to world heritage sites. Their implementation is overseen by steering groups of stakeholders, including national agencies, local authorities, site owners and local communities. Since 1997, the number of UK world heritage sites has increased from 16 to 26. I understand that all but four have current management plans, and work should be completed on the remaining few sites—the last four—during 2006. Management plans are incredibly important, as most world heritage sites are living communities. People live in them, and local people need to understand how the organisations involved in managing the site will interact with them. They need to know how they can make plans to change their housing, to start up a new business or to do something else within the site. They need to think about how their plans will correspond with the management plan for the site. The management plans are important documents, and credit is due to all the organisations that have moved so quickly to ensure that they are in place. The third phase of development involved a review of tentative sites for world heritage status, which must be considered collectively on their merits. Between 1997 and 1999, the review of the tentative list marked a new approach to defining world heritage sites in the UK. In large part, the tentative list moves the balance from monuments, which can be managed, to urban and rural landscapes, which are far more difficult to manage. Management plans would be crucial if further sites were to be designated. We must consider the sustainability of such sites for the benefit of local and national communities. That has been a quick canter through some of the broad themes in world heritage. The Minister may like to reflect on some of the key issues when he speaks, and I am sure that other colleagues will do the same. I shall now raise five points. The first issue is the statutory recognition of world heritage. Historically, there has been no statutory protection in the UK for world heritage sites, unlike listed buildings, conservation areas, ancient monuments, national parks and so on. The current review of heritage designations and protection is an opportunity to address that. World heritage sites sit at the top of the heritage hierarchy. The designation is one of the few of international significance that we recognise in the UK, and the statutory recognition and protections afforded to such sites should reflect the importance of world heritage sites in that heritage hierarchy. I understand that the DCMS has announced that the new heritage register will include world heritage sites. I should like the Minister to say a few words about that, because if that is the case, it is a major step forward. It would be interesting to hear his views on how the interaction with local authorities and their planning powers is working, and its impact on how we treat our world heritage sites in the UK. The second theme is about the resourcing and management of world heritage sites. The primary responsibility for world heritage sites in the UK rests with the Government, because of their deal with UNESCO, but much of the day-to-day management falls on the local authorities where the sites are located. They have individual and day-to-day responsibility for protecting, promoting and presenting sites that fall within their boundaries. Local funding for those activities varies between sites, but in practice there is pressure on local authority budgets. Authorities and communities benefit from the generation of tourism that the sites engender, but because of the national and international status of the sites and the scale of visitor numbers, they put unique pressures and burdens on local areas. Will the Minister open up a continuing dialogue with colleagues at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to consider the impact that world heritage sites have on local authorities, and whether we can do any more to assist them? Thirdly, I want to reflect on the promotion of world heritage. The brand and the concept are probably not that well known beyond anoraks like us. Most people probably realise that there are one or two world heritage sites locally, regionally or nationally, but we do not promote the brand well in the UK, never mind internationally. We must do more to ensure that world heritage and the world heritage sites are considered key destinations for people who want to visit the UK, and for internal tourism. That is important. I was lucky enough last year to visit the grand canyon. It is a world heritage site in the United States, but there was no indication of that status. It is clearly of world significance, but it would have been nice to have walked into the entrance lobby of the main hotel on the rim of the grand canyon to find a brochure on worldwide world heritage sites, showing Bath, Stonehenge, Ironbridge gorge and other sites in the UK and throughout the world, where people could pick up and follow the world heritage trail. We must consider that idea. It is particularly important because the Olympic games will take place in this country in 2012. Would it not be a shame if millions of visitors come to London and other sites throughout the country, including world heritage sites that will host parts of the Olympics, but never get any further? Would it not be nice to get some of those millions of visitors out of the Olympic venues, London and the other locations where events are being held, and into world heritage sites? What better way is there of promoting Britain and its contribution to the world through the Olympics than by promoting Britain's own world heritage sites? There is an opportunity, and I hope that the Minister will ensure that we seize it. We in Telford had the pleasure of receiving the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (James Purnell) recently. He was keen to work with our hon. Friend the Minister who is here today to promote world heritage sites as tourist destinations in association with the Olympic games. Fourthly, several world heritage sites throughout the UK are at specific risk from development and from natural problems such as flooding, land instability or coastal erosion. The status and the physical fabric of several sites are under threat. We need help and support from across the Government to ensure that those sites are protected. Many local authorities cannot carry the burden of ensuring that their site is protected. We need support from central Government.