Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site Management Plan 2017 - 2023 February 2017 I Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site Management Plan 2017-2023 February 2017 II Foreword Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site (WHS) was one of the first in the UK to be inscribed and has taken its place among the most famous and popular heritage sites in the world. This recognition brings with it considerable responsibility for its stewardship. Durham Cathedral, the University of Durham and St John’s College as the landowners, along with Durham County Council, are answerable through the UK Government to UNESCO as well as to the wider international community for its conservation and sharing of the WHS with present and future generations. To assist in this, a Management Plan for the Durham World Heritage Site was prepared in 2006. Ten years later, this revision to the Management Plan has been prepared following extensive consultation with organisations and individuals who have an interest in the well-being of this much loved WHS. It has been approved by the Durham WHS Coordinating Committee whose membership includes representatives of the landowners, the County Council, Historic England, UNESCO and the local community. It carries with it the goodwill and commitment of these organisations to work together for the good of the WHS. Durham is a living WHS as a place of residence and work for many people, as well as a place of pilgrimage and historic interest for visitors from around the world. As this Management Plan makes clear, the fact that this is a living WHS with many organisations and other stakeholders engaged with the Site brings with it both opportunities and challenges as we work together to maintain the Outstanding Universal Values (OUVs) of Durham WHS and to ensure a coordinated approach to the site’s management, conservation and protection in years to come. As Chair of the Durham WHS Coordinating Committee, I am confident that this Management Plan provides an excellent focus for such collaboration to ensure the Durham WHS continues to be so special for so many people, whether local resident or visitor from the other side of the world. Our aim is to manage Durham WHS to the very high standards befitting its designation as a World Heritage Site. I would like to take this opportunity to record my special thanks to the community in and around Durham and the numerous partners who have all played an essential part in the production of this plan, especially those members of the Coordinating Committee who have willingly given up their time to inform and steer this Management Plan to fruition. The Revd Canon Rosalind Brown Canon Librarian, Durham Cathedral, Chair of Durham World Heritage Site Coordinating Committee. January 2017. FOREWORD I Introduction………………………………...…. 1 2.10. Heritage Statements/Heritage Impact Assessments…………………………………………………………..22 I. What is World Heritage......................................... 1 2.11 Local Planning Policy……………………………………...23 II. How does Inscription Work................................. 1 2.12. Statutory Designations……………………………….. 24 III. The World Heritage Convention……………………… 2 2.13. Risk Management……………………………………….. 24 IV. The function of the Management Plan.............. 2 V. Summary of the process undertaken………………….2 Chapter 3: Challenges and VI. Review of the last Management Plan period Opportunities………………………………….. 25 2006 to 2017…………………………………………………. 3 3.1. Integration of the WHS Management Plan VII. Delivering the Plan 2017 to 2023…………………… 4 into the planning system……………………………… 25 VIII. Background to the development of vision, aims 3.2. Alterations and approaches to new and action plan………………………………………………….4 Development……………………………………………… 25 IX. Vision and Aims………………………………………………. 4 3.3. Risk Preparedness and Emergency Planning…. 26 3.4. Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability……………………………………………… 26 Chapter 1: Justification for World 3.5. Ownership and Management……………………….. 27 Heritage Status………………………………... 5 3.6. Boundaries, Settings and Buffer Zone…………… 27 1.1. Statement of Outstanding Universal Value……… 5 3.7. Conservation Philosophy……………………………... 27 1.2. Brief Synthesis………………………………………………… 5 3.8. Conservation of the Fabric……………………………. 28 1.3. Criteria…………………………………………………………… 7 3.9. Access and Traffic Management…………………... 29 1.4. Integrity………………………………………………………… 8 3.10. Historic Buildings……………………………………….. 30 1.5. Authenticity…………………………………………………… 8 3.11. Collections………………………………………………….. 30 1.6. Management and Protection………………………… 9 3.12. Public Realm and Landscapes…………………….. 31 1.7. Attributes of the Site and the Statement of 3.1.3. Community engagement and volunteering.. 32 Outstanding Universal Value…………………………… 10 3.14. Audience development………………………………. 32 3.15. Uses and events…………………………………………. 33 Chapter 2: Site Protection and 3.16. Intangible Heritage…………………………………….. 33 Management…………………………………...17 3.17. Research environment……………………………….. 34 2.1. Boundaries…………………………………………………… 17 3.18. Resources to deliver the Management Plan.. 35 2.2. Setting and Buffer Zone………………………………… 17 2.3. Ownership……………………………………………………. 20 2.4. Stakeholders………………………………………………… 20 Action Plan 2017- 2023 36 2.5. Conservation status……………………………………... 20 Implementation and Monitoring………………………….. 46 2.6. Management System……………………………………. 21 2.7. Planning Environment………………………………….. 21 Appendices 1-6 ……………………….……….47 2.8. Environmental Impact Assessments…………….. 22 2.9. Design and Access Statements……………….……...22 Glossary……………………….…………….…..105 CONTENTS II Introduction Figure I: Durham Castle I. What is World Heritage? Heritage Sites and their Outstanding Universal Value and World Heritage status is the designation for places in the to transmit them on to future generations. The Depart- World which are of outstanding universal value to humani- ment of Culture Media and Sport is the lead government ty, form part of the common heritage of mankind and department on World Heritage in the United Kingdom and have been inscribed on the United Nations Educational works closely with UNESCO, with other parts of the UK Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Herit- government and the Devolved Administrations. age List to be protected for future generations to appreci- ate and enjoy. At the time of writing there are 1052 WHSs II. How does Inscription Work? on the UNESCO List, of which 30 are in the United King- dom and its dependent territories. World Heritage Status is not automatically bestowed on a property by UNESCO. All World Heritage Sites must be UNESCO’s stated mission is to contribute to peace and able to make a clear case for Outstanding Universal Value security by promoting collaboration between nations in order to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. The through education, science and cultural understanding. usual route to inscription in the UK is for a local partner- World Heritage Sites are ideally placed to contribute to ship to come together around a common belief that a this mission and the Durham WHS Management Plan has place or area has the potential to be a World Heritage Site been led by these principles. and then work with the Government and its agencies to The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World get a place on the UK’s Tentative List for Nominations (see Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by the General www.whc.unesco.org or www.culture.gov.uk for details of Conference of UNESCO in 1972- Tentative Lists). They then develop and submit a nomina- (see http://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext/). tion to UNESCO, for the World Heritage Committee to The UK ratified the Convention in 1984. Guidance on the make the decision to Inscribe at their Annual Meeting. Convention is produced by UNESCO’s World Heritage Cen- This process was followed by Durham Castle and Cathedral tre (see http://whc.unesco.org/en/guidelines) in collabora- World Heritage Site for Inscription in 1986 (For more detail tion with its advisory bodies, the International Committee see the first Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Cen- Site Management Plan, 2006 tre for the Study and Restoration of Cultural Property https://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/research/ (ICCROM) and the International Union for Conservation of world-heritage-site-management-plan-2006 ). Nature (IUCN). These advisory bodies also produce guid- ance and develop policy on World Heritage issues. By sign- ing up to the World Heritage Convention, the UK Govern- ment promised to promote, interpret and protect World INTRODUCTION 1 III. The World Heritage Convention of the Durham World Heritage Site. This system is founded This defines the mandate for managing World Heritage on partnership working and strong community engage- Sites and a number of key Articles have influenced the ment, allowing agreement on a common Vision for the development of this Plan, in particular: Site. The UK Government also requires all UK World Herit- age Sites to have a Management Plan which follows the World Heritage Convention advice contained in the UNESCO Operational Guidelines and the United Kingdom’s National Planning Policy Frame- Each State Party to this Article :4 work (NPPF) (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/ Convention recognizes that the duty system/uploads/attachment_data/ of ensuring the identification, protec- file/6077/2116950.pdf). As with most World Heritage tion, conservation, presentation and Sites, responsibility for management and ownership of the transmission to future