International Council on Monuments and Sites

ICOMOS has a special responsibility to UNESCO as an official adviser on cultural World Heritage Sites and ICOMOS-UK plays an essential role in advising on aspects of World Heritage and sites for nomination across the UK.ICOMOS-UK is recognized by the Government as having special status in regard to World Heritage sites. This recognition is made manifest in planning policy guidance, which cites ICOMOS-UK as the consultative body for UK World Heritage sites. The work of ICOMOS-UK is guided by ICOMOS and we abide by the ICOMOS World Heritage Mandate. This policy is designed to avoid situations where perceptions of conflict of interest may arise and those that raise questions concerning the validity of its professional opinions. ICOMOS-UK is not a statutory consulted for planning applications relating to World Heritage sites in the UK, but we comment on major development proposals which we consider affect the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage site. This part of our work is independent of our funders.