United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site Supplementary Planning Document Adopted October 2009 Foreword Foreword by Peter Millea, Executive Member for Regeneration and John Kelly, Executive Director Regeneration This Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for the World Heritage Site (WHS) is issued following extensive public consultation by Liverpool City Council. The City Council and partners have noted the representations made by many that the WHS should contribute to the regeneration, visitor economy and local sense of civic pride in Liverpool, over coming months and years. The City Council will therefore commit more resources to promotion and interpretation of the WHS to ensure that its unique cultural heritage is fully utilised, as well as being properly conserved. The purpose of the SPD is to provide a planning framework for development which will enhance the city’s heritage and boost investment, tourism and regeneration. Above all, it is intended as a policy document which will encourage economic regeneration with an emphasis on quality. It is part of an emerging statutory development framework for the city which will outline more specific guidance on land allocations to prioritise target areas for economic growth for the whole city, including the World Heritage Site and areas bordering on it. The SPD includes important principles about World Heritage Site management in the longer term, with the emphasis on preserving and enhancing Liverpool’s outstanding universal value and the quality of its public realm. However, it is being issued at a time when the global and UK economy is contracting and a main priority for the City Council is the city’s continuing economic regeneration. This is essential if the benefits of the World Heritage Site are to be maximised. In particular, the City Council must be able to seize employment opportunities in the city centre and Northshore area, whilst retaining the city’s fundamental character and sense of place. The City Council hopes that this SPD provides adequate clarity for developers and landowners on its aspirations and policies, whilst being sufficiently flexible to respond to changing external factors. The SPD and its implementation will therefore be regularly monitored and reviewed. We are grateful to: the North West Development Agency and English Heritage for providing the funding for the preparation of this document, to the Government Office North West, Liverpool Vision and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment for providing guidance throughout its preparation and to all those individuals and organisations which made representations during the public consultation. Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site - Page 1 CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 2 Relationship to Planning Policy Framework 12 3 Historic Context of the WHS and Buffer Zone 22 4 General Guidance for Development in the WHS and Buffer Zone 36 5 Guidance Specific to the WHS 66 6 Guidance Specific to the 6 Character Areas within the WHS 82 7 Implementation and Monitoring 120 8 Abbreviations, Reference Material & Appendices 128 NB. All of the text is considered to be important in providing background, justification or guidance but the most important elements of guidance are highlighted in bold. Unless otherwise stated photographs courtesy of Liverpool City Council, John Benbow, John Stonard, English Heritage and Atkins Page 2 - Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site Section 1 : Introduction Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site - Page 3 Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site - Page 1 1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 The overarching aim of this Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) is to provide guidance for protecting and enhancing the outstanding universal value (OUV) of Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site, whilst encouraging investment and development which secures a healthy economy and supports regeneration. Its intention is to ensure that the significant historic buildings are properly conserved and that the much-needed new developments integrate harmoniously with them. The outstanding universal value of the World Heritage Site (WHS) has proven potential to inspire new development, to attract investment and visitors and to be a source of local civic pride: the SPD seeks to capitalise on that potential. 1.1.2 Liverpool has one of the longest and most recognisable waterfronts in the United Kingdom and it has “the largest and most complete system of historic docks anywhere in the world.”* Its remarkable history as an international seaport and its outstanding historic environment make it more than just another provincial English city. Indeed, the cultural heritage of Liverpool’s World Heritage Site (WHS) is of outstanding universal value to the international community. 1.1.3 After decades of economic and environmental decline in the late 20th century, Liverpool has achieved an astounding level of regeneration, through sustained public and private investment, committed partnership working and intelligent planning. Much of the townscape, fractured by war damage, industrial obsolescence and inappropriate developments, has now been repaired and re-invigorated by an exciting blend of the conservation of the key heritage assets and the construction of sustainable contemporary developments. 1.1.4 Liverpool has delivered some outstanding heritage-led regeneration projects such as the restoration of Albert Dock, the Canning Georgian Quarter, St George’s Hall, the Bluecoat Chambers, Sefton Park Palmhouse and the old Liverpool Airport. These and others have generated investment and improved both the economy and the environment of the city. Complementary new developments such as Grosvenor’s Liverpool One and the arena and conference centre at Kings Waterfront demonstrate that high quality new buildings can sit alongside historic buildings and create an exciting and stimulating urban landscape, where both new and old can add value to the overall character of the city. 1.1.5 Much remains to be done as the city seeks: to grow its economy; evolve into a 21st century city; find sustainable uses for its redundant historic docklands and its historic buildings that make a positive contribution to the urban landscape and; become a thriving international city. Liverpool City Council and its partners are committed to achieving a sensible balance between growth and conservation in this living working city. This SPD aims to provide guidance which will harmonise differing priorities for regeneration and conservation. It is a response to the changing demands of the port and the city, as Liverpool finds a new role in the 21st century, capitalising upon its unique spirit of place. Enhancing Liverpool’s spirit of place is central to maintaining its distinctiveness, encouraging investment and development. 1.1.6 This Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) has been prepared to guide development, conservation and investment in the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site (WHS) and its Buffer Zone with the aim of protecting the WHS’s Outstanding Universal Value whilst ensuring that it continues to play a leading role in the sustained regeneration of the city and the wider sub-region. 1.1.7 The content of the SPD has been informed by a range of background documents, including the Liverpool WHS Nomination Document, the Liverpool WHS Management Plan, an Evidential Report, the regional economic strategy and the Strategic Regeneration Framework. The SPD has been produced in accordance with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and Planning Policy Statement 12: Local Development Frameworks. * Ray Bondin - ICOMS Assessor Page 2 - Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site 1.2 Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site 1.2.1 A cultural World Heritage Site (WHS) is a monument, group of buildings or site which is of outstanding universal value to the international community. A defined area of Liverpool was inscribed on to the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) by its World Heritage Committee it 2004 as “the supreme example of a commercial port at the time of Britain’s greatest global influence.” 1.2.2 The World Heritage Committee considers that Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site has outstanding universal value primarily because: • Liverpool played a leading role in the development of dock construction, port management and international trading systems in the 18th and 19th centuries • The buildings and structures of the port and the city are an exceptional testimony to mercantile culture and • Liverpool played a major role in influencing globally significant demographic changes in the 18th and 19th centuries, through a) its involvement in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and b) its involvement as the leading port of mass European emigration to the New World. The historic urban landscape bears witness to this historical importance. A new Statement of Outstanding Universal Value was prepared by DCMS and English Heritage, in consultation with Liverpool City Council at the end of 2008. It was submitted to the World Heritage Committee in 2009 but was not considered due to shortage of time. The statement is provided in Appendix 1. 1.2.3 All development proposals within the WHS are considered for their potential direct impact upon the outstanding universal value of the WHS. A Buffer Zone