WORK BEGINS ON MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR GIANTS CAUSEWAY WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Angela Smith, MP, today announced that DOEs Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) has appointed Chris Blandford Associates to prepare a management plan for the Giants Causeway World Heritage Site.

Angela Smith said:

I am very pleased that the contract has been awarded to a company that has extensive experience in preparing management plans for World Heritage Sites in the UK, including Stonehenge, the Tower of London and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Moreover, the company has enlisted the help and advice of a number of local specialists to create a strong team that is well equipped to take on this assignment.

The Giants Causeway is not only of global importance as a geological feature, it is also Northern Irelands premier tourist attraction. With visitor numbers likely to grow in the years to come it is essential that we have a robust management plan in place to ensure that the site is not physically damaged and the experience of visitors is not compromised by insensitive site management.

The preparation of a management plan for the World Heritage Site is a key component of the joint ministerial statement made by Ian Pearson and myself in April this year. The other two components are an international competition for a replacement visitor centre and a tourism masterplan for the wider Causeway Coast and Glens area both of which are now underway.

A management plan for the Giants Causeway is also a requirement of UNESCO, the organisation responsible for the designation of World Heritage Sites. The plan will be jointly produced by EHS and the owners of the site, the National Trust and Moyle District Council. Amongst many other issues the plan will address the conservation requirements of the site and visitor access, including on-site safety.

The plan is due to be completed by the end of 2004 following consultation with the key parties.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. The Giants Causeway and Causeway Coast, an area of 71 hectares, was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. The site is of outstanding universal value and meets two of the criteria set out in the World Heritage Convention - it is an outstanding example representing major stages of earths history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features and contains superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.
  2. The Giants Causeway is also Northern Irelands premier tourist attraction with approximately 500,000 visitors per annum. The World Heritage Site is owned and managed jointly by the National Trust (the stones, headlands and cliff top paths) and by Moyle District Council (the car park and site of the visitor centre).
  3. UNESCO officials visited the Giants Causeway in February 2003. The report of this mission requested that a management plan be submitted to UNESCOs World Heritage Centre by February 2005.
  4. Chris Blandford Associates is one of the leading environmental planning consultancies in the UK. Based in Sussex, the company has gained experience in management planning at World Heritage Sites as diverse as Stonehenge, Kew Gardens, the Tower of London, the city of Durham and Hadrians Wall.
  5. For further information contact Philip Maguire DOE Press Information Office Tel 028 9054 0013 mobile 07713652815 e-mail Philip.j.maguire@doeni.gov.uk