Issue - meetings

To receive the presentation by Clive Carter, on the proposals for becoming a World Heritage Site (WHS).

RECEIVED the report of Duncan Wilson, APP Chief Executive, on the SAC/CC recommendation that World Heritage Site (WHS) status should be pursued by Alexandra Palace, attaching the proposal document prepared by Mr Clive Carter.

AGREED that standing orders be suspended at 7.30pm to enable Mr Carter to address the Committee for a maximum of seven minutes.

Mr Carter presented the proposal, set out in the agenda pack, that the Board, supported by the Council, should seek UNESCO World Heritage Site gift-of-inscription for the South East wing of Alexandra Palace. Mr Carter reported that the campaign was receiving significant support; there was a valid and enduring public interest in the site as the birthplace of television. It was felt that wider awareness and appreciation would increase the ability to protect and preserve the site. It was reported that modern history was already starting to be reflected in the WHS list in the form of the UK’s industrial heritage, and communications had been acknowledged at Varberg, Sweden. Television heritage should be the next to be recognised, and Alexandra Palace was a site of global significance. Details regarding the proposal were set out in Mr Carter’s document, including the high profile endorsements of the campaign received; Mr Carter had also received support from broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, not included in the documentation. The broad range of supporters demonstrated that the strategic goal of attaining WHS status for the site was right.

Mr Carter acknowledged Duncan Wilson’s covering report as an appropriate response to the proposal document and asked the Board:

i)                    To endorse the proposal as a strategic goal for Alexandra Palace;

ii)                  That the South East wing should be reserved for a facility as a UNESCO WHS, and any developments surrounding the edge of this site should bear this goal in mind;

iii)                That a Committee be established to take this proposal forward.

Duncan Wilson addressed the Board, and advised that the regeneration project currently in progress was broadly aligned with this proposal. A masterplan was required for the Palace as a whole, and it was felt most appropriate that the studios should be considered in the light of this overarching, strategic process.

• In response to a question from the Board, Mr Carter confirmed that his proposal was for the South East wing only to be listed as a WHS, as the only element of the site which would qualify in respect of its significance for television heritage.
• The Chair thanked Mr Carter for the amount of work he had put into this proposal; the Board recognised that the current approach to regeneration was now heritage-led, and this was very different to the previous approach.
• In response to a request for clarification of what was meant by “the application would not progress easily without reform both in finance and in governance” under the ‘risks’ section of the report; Mr Carter advised that it had been hoped that there would be a change in governance arrangements to include independent Board Members. He was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 177