Five new sites from across the UK and Overseas Territories have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tentative List. They are now part of a seven site list to be put forward by the Government for inscription.
The Tentative List is published around every ten years by the UK Government. It sets out the sites the State Party feels have the best chance of succeeding and they will now work with local authorities and devolved administrations to develop their bids.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) confirmed the new sites are:
- York, which has a rich Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman history, with civic and religious buildings including its Minster
- Birkenhead Park in Merseyside, which opened in 1847 and was a pioneering project to bring greenery to urban environments. It inspired the development and creation of 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
- 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, in the UK overseas territory of the Cayman Islands, with its exceptionally important marine biodiversity and incredible natural beauty
Two other sites 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 Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
Images: York by Al Elmes/Unsplash and Birkenhead Park by Ryan Warburton/Unsplash