By the Save Waterloo Dock Team
15 August, 2019
JUST SAY NO
It is abundantly clear now that approval of planning application 18F/3247 and the destruction of West Waterloo Dock will be the reason Liverpool will lose its World Heritage Status.
Mayor Joe Anderson has made his position plain and the landowners and developers are totally supportive of his complete disregard for preserving our wonderful industrial Heritage intact for future generations to experience. And yet, the Landowners (Peel) project is entirely achievable without destruction and we can salvage our World Heritage Status.
DO NOT DESTROY WEST WATERLOO DOCK.
Mayor Anderson claims to have done everything possible to comply with the conditions of our 2004 UNESCO inscription; appointing mayoral leads for heritage; setting up task forces and sending Liverpool City Council (LCC) employees all over the world to rescue our World Heritage Status, efforts to, apparently, remove Liverpool from UNESCO's at risk register. For example, in June 2018 LCC sent a delegation to UNESCO's 42nd conference in Bahrain to save our World Heritage Status and in July 2019 LCC sent two officers to UNESCO’s 43rd conference in Baku, Azeberjan. Peter Jones, case officer for planning application 18F/3247 and for Peels original consent of 2013 attended both conferences.
In July 2018 Samantha Campbell, Head of Planning and case officer Peter Jones (LCC) met with the landowner /developer and their agent Ian Ford for formal pre-application advice around the proposal to infill West Waterloo Dock. There were two more formal pre-application advice meetings in November 2018.
It would be safe to assume the belief that the pre-application advice given by Head of Planning Samantha Campbell and case officer Peter Jones did not deter the submission of the application as it went ahead.
In fact, according to Ian Ford, agent for Landowners/developers LCC actually identified West Waterloo Dock as a prime location for development.
Ian Ford for ARUP submitted planning application 18F/3247 on 12 December 2018 . The required fee of £106,955 was paid.
It is believed that Peel (landowner); Romal Capital (developer ) and ARUP (planning agent) and heritage Consultant Rob Burns are well aware of the Heritage Value of West Waterloo Dock along with a previous refusal by LCC’s planning department in 2006 to infill West Waterloo Dock.
They have the support of Mayor Anderson and the financial power to drive this planning application. Mayor Andersons incomprehension of World Heritage Status economic value and long term benefits to the region is explicit. At Save Waterloo Dock we advocate the position of leading academics from two of our fabulous universities who totally support retention of our World Heritage Status. ( See the piece on this site).
At this point in the process Mayor Anderson and LCC could justify and re-enforce the claim/commitment to retain our World Heritage Status by refusing planning application 18F/3247.
This is NOT an either or situation , we can have regeneration and heritage.
Mayor Anderson - our industrial heritage is not yours to sell off.
Just Say No to Joe.
