Bath councillors want to drop its unique UNESCO world heritage status so it can build new homes to meet Labour's targets

Britain's only protected city wants to drop its UNESCO World Heritage status so it can build new homes to meet Labour's government housing targets. The Liberal Democrat-run council is contemplating temporarily giving up the unique status after the government doubled the housing target for Bath and North East Somerset from around 14,000 to around 27,340.Bath, world-famous for its historic Roman baths and Georgian architecture, is the only entire city with protected status. Currently, all development there is heavily restricted and also falls under strict conservation rules, requiring new exteriors to closely match local heritage materials like natural stone and slate. However, the inscription in its World Heritage status has prevented new homes from being built in its suburbs due to the inclusion of its setting - as a 'hollow in the hills.'Changing the wording around its 'setting' would mean Bath would have to be delisted and then reapply, but only if UNESCO approves of the change. The current restrictions mean that most of those homes would be built away from Bath and in surrounding areas within the council boundary.To meet the target of 5,900 homes in the city, Bath and North East Somerset Council had proposed allocating land between the edge of Twerton and the Globe Roundabout for a 2,000-home westward suburban expansion of the city. Bath, world-famous for its historic Roman baths (pictured) and Georgian architecture, is the only entire city with protected status Currently, all development there is heavily restricted and also falls under strict conservation rules, requiring new exteriors to closely match local heritage materials like natural stone and slate/ Pictured: The Royal Crescent in Bath The Liberal Democrat-run council is contemplating temporarily giving up the unique status after the government doubled the housing target for Bath and North East Somerset from around 14,000 to around 27,340. Pictured: Aerial view of Abbey in BathBut the government's planning inspectorate said that the local plan would be rejected if this was included in it without the support of UNESCO.Local 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 have to reapply, with the process potentially taking several years.The allocation of homes in Bath is only fractionally more than the 5,700 proposed in Keynsham, despite the town being five times smaller than Bath.Bath's other homes would mainly be on small brownfield sites along the river.Mr McCabe added: '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 delisting process would be led by the government, with the changes being submitted to the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which would then make a recommendation to UNESCO.Mr McCabe told a council panel he believed Bath, if delisted, could get the status back and added: 'I don't think there is, in my view, any reason why UNESCO wouldn't allow us to rejoin.'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?'