The English Lake District, a cultural and ancient landscape in North West of England that inspired Romantic poets and conservationists including William Wordsworth, John Ruskin and Beatrix Potter, has been inscribed onto UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The bid was submitted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Historic England as the UK’s only submission in 2016. The header of this edition of Heritage Update features the lake district.
Locals and visitors across the Lake District are invited to celebrate the UK’s latest World Heritage Site this weekend (15th and 16th July) by coming together for a Picnic in the Park.
World Heritage Sites are areas recognised for their ‘Outstanding Universal Value’ (OUV), meaning their cultural or natural heritage transcends national boundaries and is of importance to present and future generations of all humanity.
Research conducted in 2015 by the UK National Commission for UNESCO found that UK World Heritage Sites generated an estimated £85 million from April 2014 to March 2015 through their association with UNESCO. UNESCO World Heritage Site status enhances appreciation of heritage among residents by placing it within a global context; helps foster a world-class tourist destination and enhanced visitor experience; encourages local partnership working; improves local development plans; and helps aid social and economic regeneration.