NEW WORLD HERITAGE SITE FOR WALES?
SLATE mines across north-west Wales could soon join the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef as World Heritage sites.
The Welsh slate landscape has been chosen as the UK’s preferred nomination for the Unesco status in a move which it is hoped will bring a multi-million-pound boost to the region’s economy.
The team behind the bid boast that the area, which covers swathes of Gwynedd, including the Ogwen Valley and Blaenau Ffestiniog, “roofed the world”.
They claim that by the end of the 19th century enough slate had been mined to roof around 14 million terrace houses.
If the bid is a success it will be the fourth World Heritage site in Wales, sitting alongside the Blaenavon industrial landscape, the “Castles and Town Walls of King Edward at Gwynedd” and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
Ioan Thomas, who is responsible for economic development at Gwynedd Council, hopes that a successful nomination could lead to a doubling of jobs in the heritage economy by 2030, with the sector seeing a 65% increase in turnover of £335m.
He said: “The area was the world’s greatest slate exporter during the mid-19th century, and we believe that Gwynedd’s key role in what was such an important global industry is something to be celebrated and promoted... The old quarries – and the labour of those who worked there – still influences how places look all around the world today.
“It’s amazing to see terrace houses, royal palaces and everything in between the world over covered with slate from Gwynedd.”
Mr Thomas said the application for Unesco recognition will not curtail working quarries, which are expected to form part of the buffer zone.
The heritage industry is already understood to provide work for more than 8,000 people in the Gwynedd economy.
There were one million visits by overseas tourists to Wales last year. They spent £369m in the local economy.
British residents took nine million overnight trips to the nation, spending £1.6bn.
The accolade would put a new focus on the history of the region and its impact on the world.
Workers travelled to Ireland, Germany, Australia and the United States to mine slate in new quarries. It is also the site of the three-yearlong strike at Penrhyn, one of the longest in British industrial history.
Michael Ellis, the UK government’s Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, said: “Gwynedd’s slate landscape is hugely important... This is a crucial milestone on the road to becoming a World Heritage site and the global recognition that brings.
“While the Unesco nomination process is very thorough, I believe this unique landscape would be a worthy addition to the list.”
The most recent British site to be nominated for Unesco recognition was the Jodrell Bank Observatory, with a decision expected next summer.
The proposed heritage site will focus on seven areas: Ogwen Valley, Dinorwic, Nantlle; Cwmystradllyn and Cwm Pennant; Blaenau Ffestiniog, the Dwyryd and the Ffestiniog Railway; Bryneglwys, Abergynolwyn and the Talyllyn Railway and: Aberllefenni
Dwyfor Meirionnydd Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts said: “Slate was both literally and metaphorically the bedrock of communities in north Wales – this is about preserving the economy and culture of the past and ensuring our heritage plays a role in Wales’s future.”
Lord Wigley, who chaired the campaign for the nomination for the Slate Landscape, said it was a “redletter day for us”.
He hopes that World Heritage status will help the region tap into the global tourism market and win new visitors from areas such as China.
He said: “The significance of this project if it goes ahead is this – international tourists normally bring about twice as much money per head into an area as domestic tourists.”
Welsh Government Culture and Tourism Minister Lord Elis-Thomas welcomed the announcement, saying: “We are delighted... Wales has a unique and varied industrial heritage that is rightly celebrated – this nomination provides further recognition of its global importance.
“Welsh Government and Cadw are actively contributing to the partnership that is preparing the nomination, providing critical technical and management advice.”