LONDON: The UN's cultural agency UNESCO on Wednesday voted narrowly to remove Liverpool's waterfront from its list of world heritage sites, citing concerns about overdevelopment including plans for a new football stadium. "It means that the site of Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City is deleted from the World Heritage List," Tian Xuejun, chairman of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, declared. Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram called it "a retrograde step" taken by officials "on the other side of the world". The government believes that "Liverpool still deserves its world heritage status given the significant role the historic docks and the wider city have played throughout history", a spokeswoman said. The prestigious World Heritage label can be a boon for tourism, while encouraging governments to protect cultural or environmental treasures.

Source: Manila Times July 21, 2021 11:03 UTC