The historic docklands and structures in Liverpool, United Kingdom, have been removed from UNESCO’s list of World Heritage monuments, the UN cultural organization stated on Wednesday.
The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Fuzhou for its 44th hybrid session, opted to remove the property ‘Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City’ (UK) from the World Heritage List, according to UNESCO.
The body decided to destroy the property due to the permanent loss of attributes conveying the property’s outstanding universal worth, according to the statement.
Concerns were raised in 2012 over the proposed development of unused dockland near the city center, which was deemed “detrimental to the site’s authenticity and integrity” by a UNESCO committee.
Liverpool was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004 for its pioneering dock technology, transportation networks, and port management, as well as its significance as one of the world’s major commerce centers in the 18th and 19th centuries.
According to reports in the media, Liverpool city leaders are shocked and unhappy by the news, and are considering filing an appeal.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee announced the decision at a virtual session in China, making Liverpool’s Maritime Mercantile City the third destination to lose its World Heritage classification.
The Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Oman was the first site to be delisted by the UNESCO council in 2007, following concerns about poaching and environmental deterioration.
Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany, was the second World Heritage site to be delisted in 2009, following the completion of the Waldschlosschen road bridge across the Elbe river.
In 1972, the United Nations committee began developing its list of World Heritage sites, originally selecting 12 sites.
The United States’ Yellowstone National Park and Ethiopia’s Lalibela cave churches were among them.
There are currently over 1,100 sites listed in 167 Member States, ranging from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
Te Wahipounamu Park in South West New Zealand, which is home to the kea, the world’s only alpine parrot, and the rare and endangered takahe, a giant flightless bird, is a recent addition.