Bradford Council accused of cover up over Unesco criticism of Shipley College World Heritage Site plans in Saltaire

The famous village was built by Sir Titus Salt for workers at his textile mill and it was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2001.

Emails released by Historic England (HE), following a freedom of information request, show the UK government’s heritage adviser was supportive of the plans earmarked for a car park on Caroline Street.

But a technical review by Unesco’s adviser, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, (Icomos) came to the opposite conclusion.

Icomos, which had been notified by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, is responsible for evaluating nominations for "cultural" sites on the World Heritage List. It concluded that the plans, which include classrooms, new public toilets and exhibition space, would "would have a highly adverse impact on the integrity of the property and its outstanding universal value".

Icomos wanted the centre to go into Salts Mill and the site, a car park on Caroline Street, returned to its original use as a greenspace, ideally allotments.

Although the findings were shared by Historic England with the council, the World Heritage site officer and applicant Shipley College in March 2023, councillors debating the plans in February were erroneously told “numerous attempts” had been made to contact Unesco but “to no avail”.

Unesco designation can be removed if there is too much modern development.

Liverpool was stripped of its World Heritage status after a UN committee found developments threatened the value of the city's waterfront in 2021.

Saltaire resident, musician and author Bob Stanley said: "This is plumb in the middle of Saltaire, the most prominent place it could possibly be.

"None of us could understand why Unesco was never mentioned - now we know why. You have to wonder whether the council wants World Heritage status because it interferes with what they might want to do in the future."

Emails reveal the college temporarily withdrew its plans in March 2023, in light of Icomos' findings.

Minutes of the regulatory and appeals meeting in February, where councillors voted on the application, mentions Unesco several times. The chair asked about attempts to contact Unesco: "In response it was stated that the statutory consultee was English Heritage (sic), who had responded, and they had made numerous attempts to contact Unesco, together with our heritage officer, but to no avail.”

A Bradford Council document states that the plans had to meet national and local planning policies but also "be compatible with the Saltaire World Heritage Management Plan and Unesco guidance".

Three weeks before councillors met to discuss the plans, a senior international adviser emailed a HE colleague querying whether the review had been shared with Bradford Council as they couldn't see the Icomos report in documents on the council website.

The email said: "I just wanted to check that we can say to the best of our knowledge that the local planning authority (LPA) are following up on your recommendation from your letter in October and taking Icomos’ comments into consideration?

"If I remember correctly the Technical Review report was shared with the LPA during the pre-app stages?

"I am just asking to check as I can’t see the TR report in the documents on the LPA website..."

The revelations come as Bradford prepares to host the year-long celebration of arts and culture, Bradford City of Culture 2025.

Resident Kate Rawnsley, who made the freedom of information requests, said: “Withholding this information is a scandal. It was a point we were raising.

"Had we seen the Unesco report we would have formed our opposition differently. By rights the Unesco report should have been in the public domain.”

A Historic England spokesperson confirmed they’d shared the Icomos report in March 2023 with the council, the World Heritage site officer and Shipley College, adding: “In our advice letter to the local authority, on the planning application dated 13 October 2023, we advised that it should ensure the views of Unesco, and its heritage advisers Icomos, were considered in the decision-making process for the proposal.

"It is for the local authority, as decision maker in the planning process, to outline how it addressed this advice from Historic England in its determination of the application.”

Unesco was approached for a comment. Bradford Council has not yet responded to requests for a comment.