Date published: 2024-11-06 | Category: Bath, Preparing for the Future
An ambitious plan setting out a clear vision for the long-term future of Bath’s unique heritage and safeguarding the twice-inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Site is going before Bath & North East Somerset councillors.
Proposals to consult widely and give people a chance to have their say on the draft City of Bath and Great Spa Towns of Europe combined World Heritage Site Management Plan (2024-2030) are also being considered when the council’s cabinet meets on November 14.
World Heritage Sites (WHS) are inscribed and overseen by UNESCO which requires each site to produce a management plan, renewed every six years. The plan must describe what the site consists of, why it is of global significance, how it is managed, what challenges it faces and how these will be addressed.
Bath is one of only 22 sites out of 1,223 worldwide to achieve a double inscription: City of Bath (1987) and Great Spa Towns of Europe (2021) and the report before cabinet says the benefits it brings are substantial, including economic. It also notes it is the first ever combined management plan to include two inscriptions.
Bath’s World Heritage, including preparation of the Management Plan, is managed through an Advisory Board which brings together 33 representatives from 21 organisations. The board is convened and supported by Bath & North East Somerset Council and is chaired independently. The current chair is Professor Marion Harney.
Councillor Matt McCabe, Cabinet Member for Built Environment, Housing and Sustainable Development, said: “The UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription remains a highly respected global brand – and Bath has two inscriptions. It means we have to carefully balance the needs of a unique site with all the demands of modern living. The proposed plan before cabinet sets out a clear vision and it details actions to ensure the effective management, protection and sustainable development of the World Heritage Site for present and future generations.”
The plan sets out actions to address climate change, development, the public realm, traffic, transport and mobility, promotion, interpretation, inclusion and presentation and the natural setting and nature recovery.
Among the 47 actions set out in the draft plan are proposals to; improve access by more sustainable modes of travel; increasing the diversity and inclusivity of the WHS audience; and continuing to explore options for a visitor tax or levy as part of a more sustainable tourism approach which other European cities have adopted.
The cabinet is asked to endorse the draft City of Bath and Great Spa Towns of Europe World Heritage Site Management Plan (2024-2030) for formal public engagement and agree the approach to public engagement when it meets on Thursday November 14. You can read the full report here and watch the meeting on the council’s Youtube channel.
ENDS