World Heritage Site nomination - Why?
Why do we want World Heritage Site status?
World Heritage Site status is awarded by UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) to places with outstanding cultural or natural significance. Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration.
Achieving World Heritage Site status for Wearmouth-Jarrow will:
•raise levels of awareness and pride in the sites
•gain international recognition for their historical and cultural significance
•ensure the sites are managed and protected for years to come
As part of the process to achieve World Heritage Site status we produce two documents to submit to UNESCO. These detail why we think Wearmouth-Jarrow is deserving of World Heritage Site status, and what management plans will be in place to protect and preserve the site.
What it means to the region
The bid for Wearmouth-Jarrow to become a World Heritage Site will give the communities of Sunderland and South Tyneside an increased sense of pride, sense of place and sense of ownership of something of global importance.
Tourism makes up 10% of the region's economy and employs, directly and indirectly, 100,000 people. Evidence shows that a World Heritage Site has significant potential to increase visits to, and spend in, an area. These increases translate directly and indirectly into jobs being safeguarded and created.
A World Heritage Site, alongside the region’s other outstanding attractions, will bring excellent opportunities to demonstrate the area's qualities as a place to live and work, and to attract further inward investment, which in turn may create more jobs
The Wearmouth- Jarrow Partnership
Partners across Sunderland and South Tyneside, with support from the whole of North East England, are working to gain recognition for the unique global significance of the site of the Wearmouth-Jarrow monastery.
The Partnership has been established to ensure that future generations can benefit from and be inspired by what the site stands for. A Management Plan will be produced, setting out why the site is internationally important, how it will be looked after and how people can visit and learn about the immense legacy of the site.
The Wearmouth-Jarrow Partnership is chaired by the Bishop of Jarrow. Its members are the Parishes of Monkwearmouth and Jarrow, Bede’s World, the Diocese of Durham, Sunderland City Council, South Tyneside Council, University of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear Museums, English Heritage, National Glass Centre, ONE North East, University of Durham, University of Newcastle, University of Northumbria, ICOMOS-UK and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
