Agenda item

This report presents the findings of the Lord Mayor’s World Heritage Working Group and asks the Executive to consider the options for action.

RESOLVED:(i) That the Lord Mayor be thanked for the work carried out by her and her York World Heritage Working Group and that Option C be adopted;

                        (ii) That any public consultation be undertaken by the City of York Council and should include both the local business and residential communities in order to improve public awareness and support for the proposal, and a clearer explanation of the implications for development in the proposed area be provided, together with a review of whether the full city walls area was the most appropriate boundary for a World Heritage Site.

REASON:It would be appropriate to consult the community and await the publication of guidance from DCMS on this issue and then to receive a further report and make a decision on whether to pursue World Heritage status once this additional information is available.

Members received a report which presented the findings of the Lord Mayor’s World Heritage Working Group and asked the Executive to consider the options for action.

The report presented three options for consideration:

·  Option A – That the Council does not pursue inclusion on the UK Tentative List of sites, from which nominations to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for World Heritage status would be made;

·  Option B – That the Council accepts the recommendations of the Working Group to pursue World Heritage status;

·  Option C – That the Executive asks the Working Group to:

a)     consult with the Without Walls group and the wider community on this subject;

b)     wait for and assess the publication of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) assessment of costs and benefits and practical guidance for potential sites,

c)      revise their report accordingly,

and then receives a further report from officers, in the light of this work, on whether or not to pursue World Heritage status and what should be the boundary of the World Heritage site.

RESOLVED:(i) That the Lord Mayor be thanked for the work carried out by her and her York World Heritage Working Group and that Option C be adopted;

                        (ii) That any public consultation be undertaken by the City of York Council and should include both the local business and residential communities in order to improve public awareness and support for the proposal, and a clearer explanation of the implications for development in the proposed area be provided, together with a review of whether the full city walls area was the most appropriate boundary for a World Heritage Site.

REASON:It would be appropriate to consult the community and await the publication of guidance from DCMS on this issue and then to receive a further report and make a decision on whether to pursue World Heritage status once this additional information is available.