The World Heritage Committee has placed Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to the proposed construction of Liverpool Waters, a massive redevelopment of the historic docklands north of the city centre.
The Committee contended that the development will extend the city centre significantly and alter the skyline and profile of the site inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004. Furthermore, experts argued that the redevelopment scheme will fragment and isolate the different dock areas visually.
The Committee warned that if the project is implemented, Liverpool may entirely lose the outstanding universal value for which it was given World Heritage status. The site includes six areas in the historic centre and docklands is a testimony to the development of Liverpool as one of the world’s major trading centres in the 18th and 19th centuries.
It bears witness to the important role of the city in the growth of the British Empire as a major port for the mass movement of people, e.g. slaves and emigrants from northern Europe to America. Liverpool was a pioneer in the development of modern dock technology, transport systems and port management and the site features a great number of significant commercial, civic and public buildings, including St George’s Plateau.
The World Heritage Committee earlier on Tuesday removed two sites from the List of World Heritage in Danger following improvements in their conservation: the Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore (Pakistan) and the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras (Philippines)