Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City delisted from UNESCO's World Heritage List

UNESCO on Wednesday, July 21, decided to delist United Kingdom’s Liverpool City waterfront as a historic heritage site. The decision came after the United Nations cultural body UNESCO discussed its concern on ongoing overdevelopment plans in the city for over two days and then decided to remove the tag of the World heritage site from the city’s waterfront area after a show of votes.
 Around 13 delegates voted in the favour of UNESCO’s decision and 5 opposed the proposal at the committee talks chaired by China. The committee observed just one more vote than the two-thirds majority required to delete a site from the global list.

"It means that the site of the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City is deleted from the World Heritage List," Tian Xuejun, chairman of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, declared.

UNESCO delists Liverpool City

The decision mainly stems from the UK government's constant re-development plans, which has become a flashpoint between the government and UNESCO officials. During the meet, the delegates ponder over the redevelopment plans in the city, including the construction of high-rise buildings and a new football ground. The top officials were unhappy with the UK govt and its inability to preserve the cultural heritage of the place. As per the UN, the new development, would "irreversibly damage" the heritage of the historic port in the country.

Earlier, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, which advises UNESCO on the heritage list, said that it had been repeatedly asking the British government to come up with stronger assurances about the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile city's future. It also added that the construction of the planned new stadium for the Everton football club was approved by the government without any public inquiry, and it is a major example of steps or projects that are completely contrary to UNESCO’s goals and views.

UK calls delisting as a "huge loss"

Upset with the news, the UK culture minister Caroline Dinenage had termed this a “huge loss” and had told the committee that the UK government was serious about preserving Liverpool's historic character. Earlier, the world heritage committee on Sunday, July 18, had proposed to put Australia’s Great barrier Reef in the World Heritage sites in the danger category. The Australian government will challenge the proposition. The World Heritage Committee under UNESCO made the proposal, saying it is due to the detrimental impact of climate change.

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