Bath, Britain’s only entire city protected by UNESCO, could temporarily surrender its World Heritage status to make room for new homes and meet the Labour government’s increased housing targets.
The Liberal Democrat-run Bath and North East Somerset Council is considering the move after the government almost doubled the area’s housing requirement from about 14,000 homes to approximately 27,340.
Bath is internationally renowned for its Roman baths and Georgian architecture, and is the only city in Britain whose entire urban area has protected World Heritage status.
Development in the city is already tightly controlled under strict conservation rules. New buildings must generally respect Bath’s historic character, including the use of traditional materials such as natural stone and slate.
The wording of Bath’s UNESCO inscription has also restricted housebuilding in the suburbs because it protects the city’s wider setting, described as a ‘hollow in the hills’.
Altering the reference to Bath’s ‘setting’ would require the city to be removed from the World Heritage list before applying again. Any change would first need UNESCO’s approval.
Under the current restrictions, much of the required housing would have to be built outside Bath, in other parts of the council’s administrative area.
To deliver 5,900 homes within Bath itself, the council had proposed allocating land between the edge of Twerton and the Globe Roundabout for a westward expansion of the city containing around 2,000 homes.
Bath, world-famous for its historic Roman baths (pictured) and Georgian architecture, is the only entire city with protected World Heritage status
Development in Bath is heavily restricted by conservation rules, with new exteriors expected to use local heritage materials such as natural stone and slate. Pictured: The Royal Crescent in Bath
The Liberal Democrat-run council is considering temporarily giving up Bath’s unique status after the government increased the housing target for Bath and North East Somerset from about 14,000 to around 27,340. Pictured: An aerial view of Bath Abbey
However, the government’s planning inspectorate warned that the local plan would be rejected if it included the proposed expansion without UNESCO’s backing.
Councillor Matt McCabe told a council scrutiny panel: ‘Politically, everybody thinks that’s the best place for the city to expand.
‘We have to change the wording of the UNESCO World Heritage inscription.’
Bath would be delisted as a World Heritage site and would then have to submit a fresh application, a process that could take several years.
The proposed allocation for Bath is only slightly higher than the 5,700 homes earmarked for Keynsham, even though Keynsham is five times smaller than Bath.
The remaining homes planned for Bath would largely be built on smaller brownfield sites along the river.
Mr McCabe said: ‘Bath is going to squeeze in as much as it can on every single bit of space but that doesn’t quite get it to 6,000 houses.’
The government would lead any delisting application, with the proposed changes submitted to the International Council on Monuments and Sites, known as ICOMOS. The organisation would then issue a recommendation to UNESCO.
Mr McCabe told the council panel that he believed Bath could regain its World Heritage status after being delisted. ‘I don’t think there is, in my view, any reason why UNESCO wouldn’t allow us to rejoin,’ he said.
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He said the council would ‘try and start those conversations in the new year.’
Bath first became a World Heritage Site in 1987. It later became a world heritage site twice over when it was inscribed as part of the Great Spa Towns of Europe World Heritage Site in 2021.
Opposition Labour councillors on the council have previously called for Bath to scrap the World Heritage Site status in order to take a greater share of housing.
Labour group leader Robin Moss recently said ‘UNESCO is proud of other World Heritage Site cities where the locals aren’t priced out.’
Mr McCabe said the council had previously raised the issue with government and said: ‘We went up to government and said: ‘You have doubled our target. You have to do something about Bath.
‘We can’t expand the city and we can’t build up because of the UNESCO listing.’ And there was no interest last year.’
A six-week public consultation on the local plan runs until October 30.
Some locals have raised concerns over the prospect of giving up its UNESCO status and not getting it reinstated.
One said: ‘Do that and you won’t get it back. You need to tackle the universities who have caused this through inaction to stop them.
‘Residents warned of these issues 30 years ago. Stop all HMO conversions and stop permitting any student blocks. Bath is overpopulated already.’
Another said: ‘If it is just temporary, to remove it, build, then reinstate it, it is really not worth having the status to begin with. The point of it having this status is to protect it surely?
‘What’s next? Remove status, bulldoze the pump rooms etc then reapply?’
Another local added: ‘The parts of Bath that earn that status will not be affected, surely?
‘Bath’s topography presents many a problem but surely if the developments on the southwest of Bath were acceptable, what is the problem?’
One resident said they didn’t see losing the UNESCO status as having too much of an impact.
They said: ‘People won’t stop coming to see the Roman Baths etc just because the city as a whole doesn’t have UNESCO status.
‘The problem with a lot of these heritage designations – UNESCO or even just listing is that they come with rules but no funding.
‘That’s why buildings like the old King Edward’s school stand idle – restrictions on what they can do but no funding from anywhere to meet the additional costs.’
However, one local added: ‘What makes the council think they have the option to dump Bath’s UNESCO awarded status then take it back on whenever it likes?’