The British city of Liverpool has been excluded from the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The reason is the activities along the coast, the world agencies reported, quoted by BTA.
The decision was taken by secret ballot by members of the World Heritage Committee, who meet virtually in China.
The world organization had warned that construction activities, including construction of a new stadium for Everton Football Club, lead to “irreversible loss”.
Liverpool Mayor Joan Anderson described the committee’s decision as “incomprehensible”.
“Our World Heritage Site has never been in better shape after benefiting from hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in dozens of buildings and the public sector,” she said.
Anderson announced that together with the government will examine whether the city can appeal the decision, which was taken after “the last time a UNESCO team visited the city ten years ago to see it with their own eyes”.
So far, UNESCO has excluded only two sites from the list, which has existed since 1978. These are the Arabian oryx reserve in Oman, which was excluded in 2007, and the Elbe Valley in the Dresden region of Germany in 2009.
Liverpool was included in 2004 for its historic contribution as a major trading center of the former British Empire and its architectural landmarks.
Australia has probably received enough support to postpone the committee’s vote on the issue until 2023 whether to identify the Great Barrier Reef as an endangered natural site, DPA reported in the meantime. The country amended the proposed text to consider the issue at a forthcoming session and received support from 12 of the committee’s 21 member countries. The Canberra government has done everything in its power to prevent the Barrier Reef from being identified as an endangered site, which would damage the image of this natural wonder, which brings economic benefits to the country. Australia invites foreign diplomats to visit, including from countries participating in the vote, and organizes diving in the area.
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