World Heritage UK 2025 Annual Conference

Theme – Engagement with World Heritage

Dates – Thursday 9th & Friday 10th October 2025

Venue – Victoria Hall, Saltaire WHS

Day 1 Thursday 9th October 2025:

9.30am Arrival/registration, teas, coffees, soft drinks and biscuits

10.00am – Welcomes and Introductions from Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw from Bradford City Council and Paul Simons, WHUK Chair; followed by a video from Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of World Heritage, UNESCO

10.10am Why Saltaire is special – Lord Wallace of Saltaire

10.20am Why Saltaire WHS is important to Bradford City, with Anna Dixon MP

10.30am Introducing the World Heritage APPG, with its Chair Jonathan Davies MP

10.45am – What is Engagement and who to Engage? With Lorrainne Smyth, Chief Exec at Action with Communities Cumbria (online)

11.05am Short WHS visit, led by members of the Saltaire WHS team

11.30am Morning break

12.00pm – Engaging Politicians with WH, with Lizzie Glithero-West, CEO The Heritage Alliance

12.20pm – Using UNESCO Designations to engage audiences, with Bradford City of Film’s Rachel Bottomley

12.40pm Lunch

1.30pm – Community engagement by Bradford City of Culture, with Jenny Harris, Programme Director, Bradford 2025, UK City of Culture

1.50pm – Engaging hard to reach audiences, with the National Trust team at East Riddlesden Hall

2.10pm – Local to Global with project lead Liam Smyth from UK National Commission for UNESCO

2.30pm Afternoon break

2.50pm – Engagement via Art and Installations with world-renowned artist Steve Messam

3.10pm – Engagement with Schools, with Kate Lapping from New Lanark WHS

3.30pm – Engagement by and with Pressure & Lobbying Groups, with Save Our Saltaire’s Ben Stern

3.50pm Q&As

4.15pm ‘Behind the Scenes’ visits to Salt Mills/Saltaire WHS, led by members of the WHS team

4.45pm Day 1 ends

6.00pm Evening social at Aagrah Restaurant, 4 Saltaire Rd, Shipley BD18 3HN

Day 2 Friday 10th October 2025:

9.30am Arrival, teas, coffees, soft drinks and biscuits

10.00 am Welcomes

10.15am – Engagement with complex natural heritage and stakeholder networks, with Jurassic Coast WHS’ Sam Scriven (online)

10.35am – “Driving Forward, Looking Back”: A review of WHUK over the past 10 years and thoughts towards the future, with Steve Ratcliffe, Prof Ian Wray & Dr Sam Rose, chaired by Paul Simons

11.00am Morning break

11.30am – Engagement with World Heritage through Management Plans; with ICOMOS-UK’s Sarah Simmonds

11.50am – WH Engagement with technology/Academia engaging future heritage workers; Prof. Andy Wilson, University of Bradford

12.10pm Short WHS visit, led by members of the Saltaire WHS team

12.40pm Lunch

1.40pm – Engaging audiences through public transport, with Tom Waterhouse, Managing Director for Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire

2.10pm – Community Engagement, with the Slate Landscape of NW Wales WHS’ Lucy Thomas, Hannah Joyce and Dam Amor

2.30pm Afternoon break

2.50pm – Engaging tourists/the non-engaged with Tony Watson, North Yorkshire Council’s Head of Tourism

3.10pm – Business Engagement via World Heritage Branding, with Sarah Calderbank, Head of Communications at Lake District National Park Authority

3.30pm Q&A/Conference wrap up/Thank you’s

4.00pm Conference ends

Social events: Wednesday 8th October

If you are arriving into Bradford/Saltaire the night before the conference, why not join a walking tour of Bradford city centre? Join Saira Ali, Bradford Council’s Team Leader for Landscape Design and Conservation on a short guided walk to see the city’s work on greening its centre. The walk will end at the newly opened Darley Street Market for food and drink if needed.

Meet outside Bradford City Hall at 6pm; the tour starts at 6.15pm and we should arrive at Darley Street ~6.45pm.

Social events: Thursday 9th October

After a busy day one of the conference, why not enjoy spend the evening with friends and colleagues over a curry and drink? Come and enjoy local award-winning Kashmiri/Indian cuisine at the family-run Aagrah Restaurant. We will be treated to a 3-course evening buffet. Aagrah is also a BYO with no corkage charge. The restaurant is a 10-minute walk from Victoria Hall (there’s a couple of off licences close by)and 13-minute walk to Saltaire station. Be sure to pick the ticket with the evening event included!

Helpful links:

Accommodation in Bradford/Saltaire – try VisitBradford‘s website for accommodation suggestions; or try the Mercure Bradford Bankfield Hotel or the Ibis Shipley

Accommodation in Skipton – try the Premier Inn

Transport to/from Saltaire: to travel from Bradford city centre to Saltaire, the most convenient options are:

• By train: Bradford Forster Square: trains run directly to Saltaire and the journey takes about 10 minutes.
• By train: Bradford Interchange: you can also reach Saltaire by train from Bradford Interchange, but it may involve a change at Shipley or requiring a short walk from Forster Square. 
• By bus – Forster Square: The Keighley Bus Company operates buses from Forster Square to Saltaire, with a journey time of around 17 minutes.
• By bus – Multiple routes: Several bus routes (662, 622, 623, 675, 677) connect Bradford city centre to Saltaire. 

Transport to/from Saltaire from Skipton:

• Direct trains: numerous direct trains operate between Skipton and Saltaire, with an average journey time of around 26 minutes. 
• Frequency: expect trains to run approximately every 30 minutes.
• Fastest journey: the quickest train journeys can be completed in as little as 24 minutes.
• Train operator: Northern Rail operates these trains.

Do Your Bit for the Environment – we invite attendees of the Annual Conference to support the Flow Country Partnership’s mission to restore the world’s only Peatland World Heritage Site – inscribed for being the world’s largest intact blanket peat bog. This vital ecosystem stores over 400 million tonnes of carbon, playing a crucial role in combating climate change. If you are travelling to the conference, please consider a donation to help facilitate future carbon sequestration. Your donations will directly aid in the restoration efforts, enhancing the peatland’s capacity to sequester carbon and support biodiversity. Please note, this initiative is not currently structured as a carbon offset programme; however, there is potential for it to evolve into one in the future, subject to interest from the World Heritage community and feasibility.  Your support today contributes to meaningful environmental impact and may pave the way for future carbon offset opportunities.

Click here to donate…thank you.

The 2025 Annual Conference is kindly supported by the National Trust and North Yorkshire Council.