In 2019 Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust will be updating and reviewing the Giant’s Causeway WHS Management Plan. Under the World Heritage Convention and UK Government Policy all World Heritage Sites must have an up to date Management Plan to ensure best practice, proper management, sustainability and effective conservation. Management Plans are essential in working towards the protection and promotion of all World Heritage Sites.
The first Management Plan at the Giant’s Causeway was published in 2005 and covered the period up to and including 2012; this Plan was followed by a subsequent document which outlined the management of the WHS from 2013 and which will be replaced by the new Plan in 2020. CCGHT have been tasked with developing this new Plan, on behalf of the WHS Steering Group – a group made up of representatives from the main stakeholder organisations who contribute to the management of the Giant’s Causeway.
The new Management Plan will cover the context of the Giant’s Causeway WHS, outlining its significance, features and setting. It will also detail the management structures, policies and legislation which govern the site’s day-to-day operations, and will incorporate the foreseeable challenges and opportunities faced by the site in coming years. The Plan will outline Actions and Objectives to be pursued at the WHS from 2020 and so will have a significant influence on upcoming projects in and around the Giant’s Causeway area.
As part of the development process for the new Plan, a series of public consultations will take place in Summer 2019, allowing our local communities (groups, associations, businesses and individuals) to feed into the process and have their say on the management of the WHS.
What do you value at the Giant’s Causeway? How does the WHS affect you or your business? What projects would you like to see delivered in the Giant’s Causeway area? What concerns do you have regarding the WHS?
Keep your eyes peeled for more information on how to get involved in CCGHT’s public consultations and new WHS Management Plan.
Public consultation programme dates TBC – update expected July 2019