Decision details

(1)  To endorse the draft City of Bath and Great Spa Towns of Europe World Heritage Site Management Plan (2024-2030) for formal public engagement.

(2)  To agree the approach to public engagement as set out in the report.

World Heritage Sites (WHS) are inscribed and overseen by UNESCO.  UNESCO Operational Guidelines (2021) require each site to produce a management plan, renewed every six years, describing what the site consists of, why it is of global significance, how it is managed, what challenges it faces and how (through an action plan) these will be addressed.  This draft will replace the previous plan covering the period of 2016-2022 and has been drafted to include the second inscription.

UNESCO WHS inscription remains a highly respected global brand and the highest and most prestigious heritage designation and accolade that can be achieved.  Bath is one of only 22 sites out of 1223 worldwide to achieve a double inscription: City of Bath (1987) and Great Spa Towns of Europe (2021). The benefits it brings are substantial, including economic, deriving from the global status and profile for the city, which is significant, and other comparable UK cities that recognise these benefits have attempted to gain this status so far without success. 

The WHS Management Plan informs, works alongside and is complementary to the Council’s Development Plan.

It is important to seek stakeholders’ views on the issues, challenges and opportunities facing the WHS now and going forward and the objectives and actions identified to address them.  The consultation is also an opportunity to widen understanding of the reasons for the two World Heritage Site inscriptions and their importance.  The consultation will be aimed at a wide range of stakeholders, from communities / residents to statutory organisations, the voluntary sector, local businesses, developers etc.

None.