A park an hour from Greater Manchester which inspired New York’s Central Park has received Government backing to win Unesco World Heritage status. Birkenhead Park in Merseyside is among seven sites in the running to join the prestigious list.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced on Monday, April 10, the seven places on its “Tentative List”, which is published around every 10 years. It sets out the sites it feels have the best chance of being granted World Heritage Status.
Five new sites from across the UK and overseas territories have been added, meaning the Government is putting forward a seven-site list. Among the cultural sites are York city centre, which harbours a rich history left behind by its Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman inhabitants – with civic and religious buildings including its Minster.
READ MORE:
Birkenhead Park, which opened in 1847, features on the list. The park was a pioneering project to bring greenery to urban environments and it’s served as a blueprint for municipal planning which has influenced town and city parks across the world, including New York’s Central Park.
The Zenith of Iron Age Shetland, a collection of three ancient settlements dating back thousands of years, has also been placed on the Tentative List. Places of natural significance recommended for consideration by the DCMS include the East Atlantic Flyway, a migratory bird route over western parts of Europe including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent.
It joins the list in recognition of its vital importance to bird populations and wildlife as an area that sees huge transient bird populations pass through every year. The Little Cayman Marine Parks and Protected Areas, situated in the UK overseas territory of the Cayman Islands, have also been put forward for their exceptional importance to marine biodiversity and their incredible natural beauty.
The five sites join two more that submitted their full nominations to Unesco earlier this year, and remain on the Government’s Tentative List. They are The Flow Country, a large area of peatland across Caithness and Sutherland in the north of Scotland which plays a crucial role in supporting biodiversity, and the Gracehill Moravian Church Settlement in Northern Ireland.
If successful, the seven sites would join the 33 other World Heritage sites already based in the UK including Stonehenge and Hadrian’s Wall.
Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: “Today we are confirming our support for some of the most enchanting heritage sites and breathtaking landscapes in the UK and its overseas territories as they bid for Unesco World Heritage Site status.
“All the locations being put forward would be worthy recipients of this accolade – and we will give them our full backing so they can benefit from the international recognition it can bring.”
Laura Davies, HM Ambassador to Unesco, said: “It is great that the UK is contributing to making World Heritage more representative. These five sites brilliantly reflect the diversity and beauty of the UK and its overseas territories’ natural and cultural heritage, and I look forward to working with them towards World Heritage listing.”
The DCMS says it will now work with local authorities and devolved administrations to develop their bids.
For more of today's top stories, click here.
READ NEXT:
