Lake District’s Heritage Bid “Is Good, But Not Essential”

Undoubtedly landing the prize of being recognised as a World Heritage Site is a prestigious moment, but with the Lake District within sniffing distance of achieving this goal, having been proposed as the UK next nomination in 2016, there are rumblings in some quarters as to the financial importance of such an award.

Despite the general feeling of euphoria surrounding the bid, there are some people who think the unthinkable, and that is whether the award is the be all and end all that it is cracked up to be.

"Being added to the list gets a destination a real lift in terms of publicity," says Lonely Planet website editor Tom Hall. "I think it's a good thing. The question is whether it's an essential thing."

Would World Heritage status be " a good thing?"

Richard Greenwood, of Cumbria Tourism, which is involved in the campaign, admits the fight is "fraught with problems" but believes the area must grasp the opportunity. "The places everyone seems to be talking about are China, India, Russia and the UAE, where people are just discovering overseas travel," he says. "They tend to use heritage sites as a bit of a bucket list of places to visit."While existing hotels could cope with an increase in tourists, Mr Greenwood adds it could "trigger interest from branded chains to position themselves in the Lake District".

The Lake District currently attracts 14.8 million visitors each year, and they spend a total of £2.2bn. Even a 1% increase in visitor numbers, Mr Greenwood says, could be worth about £20m a year to the local economy through spending on accommodation, food and drink, and leisure activities.

The award of World Heritage status brings along hefty preservation responsibilities and is no guarantee of extra money. For instance, the Hadrian's Wall Trust is currently struggling with a cash crisis despite the Roman structure being on Unesco's list since 1987. It is estimated that the total cost of the Lake District's bid for World Heritage status is expected to be in the region of £400,000, as suggested by some people “in the know” You can see therefore that some people raise unthinkable questions as to whether the winning of the coveted status is worthy of the name.

Back to Mr. Hall of The Lonely Planet. "Lots of visitors to the UK go on quite a well-trodden route that takes in London, Bath, Stonehenge, York and Edinburgh," says Lonely Planet's Mr Hall. To get people off that [route] is a slightly different thing but there's a potential gain to be had."
Mr. Greenwood remains upbeat about the whole thing, but admits that there are certain expenses involved. Overseas marketing is "very expensive" and the Lake District's current spend is "pretty modest", Mr Greenwood reveals.

"We'd have to work cleverly. Creative thinking and close working with organisations such as Visit Britain would be required. It would be a gradual transition. It's not going to happen overnight - and it's not going to happen if we sit on our hands."

Cautious eyes are cast in the direction of the Hadrian’s Wall, where the Trust are the first to admit that the award has not cured all ills

The trust's chief executive Linda Tuttiett has admitted that it is "very difficult to say" whether World Heritage status has resulted in more visitors and while the status is sought-after by many, it brings with it challenges. Indeed a  report commissioned by the Lakes bid has suggested that visitor numbers fell for the first 15 to 18 years after Hadrian's Wall's status was secured.

Philip Johnston is the managing director of a holiday lets firm in the Coppermines Valley near Coniston village. The poet Wordsworth tried to stop the railways. Every generation has conflicts and tries to stop something," he says.

"What I hope will never happen is in planning committees people saying 'we can't do that because it's a World Heritage site'. I want it them to be able to say 'let's inspire the economy, let's go forward and give our young people something for future generations and let's get on with moving the Lake District forward'."

                                                             The Lake District National Park