16 CONTEXT 176 : JUNE 2023 CHRIS BLANDFORD World heritage in the UK: an overview The UK has a rich and diverse collection of world heritage sites, but it is proving increasingly difficult to implement in full their visions and conservation objectives. The 1972 Unesco World Heritage Convention defines the types of sites that can be inscribed on to the World Heritage List, and gives guidance on how these should be identified, protected, conserved, presented and transmitted for future generations. The UK ratified the convention in 1984, and as a ‘state party’ has a duty to cooperate and ensure the permanent protection of the outstanding universal value of the world heritage sites in its care. Unesco’s World Heritage Committee (WHC) defines outstanding universal value as the ‘cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity’. 194 countries are signatories to the convention. There are currently 1,156 world heritage sites, distributed unevenly across the globe, with 49 per cent located in European countries. Unesco policy is now to accept a maximum of one world heritage site nomination per year from each state party to begin redressing this global imbalance. The UK approach in response is to submit a WHS nomination only every other year. Unesco’s Operational Guidelines for the Implementation for the World Heritage Convention (2019) sets out the obligation related to the convention, identifies the criteria for the assessment of outstanding universal value, summarises the requirements for the preparation of nomination applications, and provides guidance on the need for longer-term commitments for world heritage site protection and management. Strutt's North Mill in Belper, in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, is one of the world’s oldest surviving examples of an ironframed ‘fire-proof’ building. (Photo: Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site)
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