Liverpool Loses its World Heritage Status
Why did Liverpool lose its World Heritage Site designation? Where the seeds sown early, and does the loss matter?
Posts from the ‘Analysis’ Category
Jul 21
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Rapidly diminishing heritage
This is a sort of short follow up to the most recent blog post on the Futurist cinema, which was demolished against the wishes of a vocal number of Liverpool’s citizens.
Another planning application raising eyebrows is one put in to demolish parts of the Rapid Hardware building on Renshaw Street. This is a well known landmark for anyone who’s spent any time in the city. It also happens to be where I first bought a lot of archaeological health and safety kit! Read more
Aug 3
The future and the Futurist
And so the Futurist cinema is coming down.
It’s been on the cards for a few months, and now people are generally coming to the opinion that it was inevitable (for which read ‘the Council pretended it wouldn’t be demolished, but always intended to demolish it anyway’). But I’m not here to debate conspiracies, because you get nowhere, and what’s done is done (by the time you read this). Read more
Apr 5
Spirits of Place: Where historic landscapes collide (with folklore and fiction)
A day-long conference on the the spirit of Liverpool's places. Topics covered include punk, prehistory and magic.
Who’d be a Scouser?
Where does the word Scouser come from, and is it, or has it always been, a badge of honour?
Dec 6
The Liverpool History Geek’s Gift Guide
A round-up of the best books, society membership and other gifts for the history buff in your life.
Jul 12
Zen and the Art of Heritage Protection
Heritage Protection is a controversial field at the best of times. There are almost as many different opinions on a given listing, say, as there are people offering said opinions. It’s difficult for the likes of English Heritage to decide what to protect and what to let go, and it’s certainly not a scientific process. But should we stop getting confused between the things we should be saving, and the events they merely represent?
Mar 23
Refurbishing old buildings in the historic landscape
English Heritage have released a new volume of their ‘Constructive Conservation’ series, this one entitled Sustainable Growth for Historic Places. It’s all about the benefits of re-using historic buildings for new purposes, and the effects not only on the bottom line of the developer, but also the ability of these buildings to attract customers and tourists, and the benefits of creating an attractive and enjoyable place to work in. Read more
Mar 15
Peel Waters and the New Liverpool Landscape
As you’ll no doubt be aware, the planning application for Peel Waters was recently waved through by Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and there will be no public enquiry. Regular readers will remember previous posts, where I’ve come down against the scheme. But now that it looks like going ahead, it’s time to move on and consider how the development will unfold. Read more
Jun 27
Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site in Danger
Well, it happened. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, arbiters of the World Heritage Site list, met this week (as they do annually) and Liverpool was on the agenda. A decision was made to place the Maritime Mercantile City on the ‘In Danger’ list, which means that the “outstanding universal value” for which the area earned the title in 2004 (see my map of the historic sites of Liverpool for an outline of the WHS) is under threat.
It had been on the cards since Peel proposed their Liverpool Waters scheme, but the decision was finally taken in the wake of Liverpool City Council’s decision to grant that scheme planning permission in March of this year. Read more
