Liverpool stripped of its UNESCO World Heritage listing

CNN — It’s famous for its docks, the Beatles, and its two world-renowned soccer teams – but now, Liverpool is going through a different kind of notoriety. UNESCO said in a statement that the city had been “deleted” from the list “due to the irreversible loss of attributes conveying the outstanding universal value of the property.” It called the development of Liverpool Waters – a decades-long planned regeneration of the city’s famous docks – “detrimental to the site’s authenticity and integrity.” The development’s proposal – which includes apartments, offices, shops and hotels in the old docks – was responsible for Liverpool’s inscription on the endangered list in 2012. Noting their “regrets,” the committee wrote that the “State Party has not complied with the repeated requests of the Committee.” Joanne Anderson, mayor of Liverpool, has said she is “hugely disappointed and concerned” by the decision, claiming that UNESCO hasn’t fully evaluated the city in “a decade” and calling the decision “completely wrong.” “Our World Heritage site has never been in better condition having benefitted from hundreds of millions of pounds of investment across dozens of listed buildings and the public realm,” she added. “Our commitment to maintaining and improving our buildings remains as strong as ever and will continue to be a key part of our drive to attract visitors, along with leisure, retail and events.” “I find it incomprehensible that UNESCO would rather Bramley Moore Dock remain a derelict wasteland, rather than making a positive contribution to the city’s future and that of its residents.” Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region, also condemned the move, calling it a “retrograde step that does not reflect the reality of what is happening on the ground.” “Places like Liverpool should not be faced with the binary choice between maintaining heritage status or regenerating left behind communities – and the wealth of jobs and opportunities that come with it,” he said in a statement. “Since we’ve not had not a full UNESCO mission visit since 2011, invitations have been constantly made over the past decade to resolve this impasse.” UNESCO says that the last visit was made in 2015 – and that Isabelle Anatole Gabrielle, chief of the Europe and North America desk of the World Heritage Center, also visited in 2017 to meet with representatives of the city council.