Fury cross the Mersey: Liverpool loses world heritage status

Civic leaders in Liverpool are expressing outrage after the English port city was stripped of its World Heritage status by the United Nations’ culture organization

LONDON -- Civic leaders in Liverpool expressed outrage Wednesday after the English port city was stripped of its World Heritage status by the United Nations’ culture organization. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee voted in a secret ballot to remove the designation because of developments in the city center and on its historic River Mersey waterfront. The committee said the projects, including a planned new stadium for soccer team Everton, were “detrimental to the site’s authenticity and integrity” and had caused “irreversible loss of attributes.” Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson called the decision “incomprehensible.” “I’m hugely disappointed and concerned by this decision to delete Liverpool’s World Heritage status, which comes a decade after UNESCO last visited the city to see it with their own eyes,” she said.