UNESCO strips Liverpool of world heritage status

English port city becomes only the third site to have designation revoked by the United Nations’ culture organisation.

The English port city of Liverpool has been removed from UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites, making it only the third site to be removed from the prestigious list. The United Nations’ culture organisation’s World Heritage Committee voted in a secret ballot to remove the designation on Wednesday because of developments in the city centre and on its historic River Mersey waterfront. The committee said the projects, including a planned new stadium for local football club Everton, were “detrimental to the site’s authenticity and integrity” and had caused “irreversible loss of attributes”.