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Heritage status call for Jewellery Quarter
Jan 18 2008 By Tom Scotney, Birmingham Post
Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter should be listed along with monuments like the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China and the Statue of Liberty, a council report has recommended.
The planning report says the historic district should be recommended to the Government as a potential candidate for a World Heritage Site.
It would join a list that includes the likes of Stonehenge and the Tower of London as the most important historical sites in the country.
The report, to be discussed by Birmingham City Council's planning committee on Thursday, said giving the area World Heritage status would bring international attention, as well as attracting investment and increasing tourism.
The move is supported by Lord Mayor Randall Brew, the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, as well as senior figures in the council.
Councillor Neville Summerfield, cabinet member for regeneration, said: "It would bring significant kudos and benefits to both the Jewellery Quarter and the wider city of Birmingham.
"The resulting profile and recognition on the international stage would provide not only a huge boost to tourism, but also inward investment and the further conservation and regeneration of this historic part of our city."
The Jewellery Quarter dates back more than 250 years, and is the largest active centre for jewellery production in Europe. It is still home to many businesses established in the 1800s, as well as the world's oldest assay office.
More than 1,200 creative businesses, and at least 100 designers operate out of the district. During the golden age of the district, more than 60,000 people were employed in its bustling jewellery industry.
In 1824 the Birmingham Assay Office was given the first licence to hallmark precious metals, after gold rushes in Australia and the US led to an increased demand for jewellery.
In the 1970s the district remodelled itself as a retail area, with shops springing up to cater for customers looking to buy their jewellery direct from the source. It is now also the site of blocks of city living apartments.
The district was identified by English Heritage as a historic industrial area of European importance in 1999, and it has been designated a Conservation Area by the City Council.
If it was created a World Heritage Site it would be one of the only ones still in operation, with the majority being sites of historical importance.
The extra money created by naming it a World Heritage Site would be a huge boon to the city, the Chamber of Commerce said.
Charlotte Ritchie, head of policy at at the Chamber, said: "The Jewellery Quarter is a national treasure and fully deserves to become a World Heritage Site. It is one of the birthplaces of the industrial revolution and to this day manufactures works that are the envy of the world. Other World Heritage Sites in Britain, such as Liverpool, Bath and Durham have benefited hugely from an influx of additional tourists and if Birmingham joins this list it will be worth millions of pounds to the local economy as well as raising the profile of the city and its industrial heritage around the world."
World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) after nomination by governments. Currently there are 851 sites across the world.
The World Heritage programme was created to identify and protect important sites of global cultural or national value. If backed by the committee next week, the proposal will go before a full meeting of the council before being submitted to the Government.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport, advised by English Heritage, is responsible for submitting formal bids for World Heritage Status to UNESCO.
If a Jewellery Quarter bid is recommended by Birmingham City Council, it would face a battle with Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon, along with Chatham Dockyard, Kent, the Lake District, the New Forest, and about a dozen other sites to get the UK nomination.
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