World Heritage Site Monitoring Report 2006/07

The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site Monitoring Report 2006/07 was prepared by Edinburgh World Heritage with its partners; Historic Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh City Centre Management Company and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian, through the World Heritage Site Steering Group.

Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site is a complex and living city centre; and this report doesn’t just assess the condition of the physical fabric, but also looks at economic and social factors that influence the way people live and visit the City.

Why monitor the World Heritage Site?

One of the responsibilities for the State Party of inscription upon the UNESCO World Heritage List is monitoring of the Site’s state of conservation. National periodic monitoring reports are currently required every six years.

In addition, systematic monitoring of a Site to identify trends and condition over time is considered to be good practice as a tool to be used in World Heritage management. Ultimately these annual reports will be used to inform the review of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site Management Plan.

What does it say?

The indicators used in this report suggest that in 2006/07 the state of conservation was generally good. It also recognises the management challenges involved in maintaining economic growth, vital to sustain the income needed for maintenance and conservation work, and the development pressures that may arise from this. 

The report identifies many positive actions being taken by EWH and its partners to protect, enhance, and increase awareness of, the WHS through partnership working and community involvement.

Included are two case studies; the first shows a successful approach to new development in the historic WHS, and the second documents an example of extensive conservation work made possible by EWH’s Conservation Funding Programme.

Download a copy of the WHS Monitoring Report 2007/06 (pdf 500KB)

Indicator Summary (pdf 51KB)

Appendix III Conservation Area Map (pdf 6.22MB)

Appendix IV Development Map (pdf 4.28MB)