About us
Heritage is the foundation of any strong culture.
Holding UNESCO World Heritage Status, The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh are blessed with a rich tapestry of scenery, structures and stories, each intrinsic to our identity. These elements have, over the centuries, forged our traditions, built our communities, and nurtured our outstanding international reputation.
Working alongside our partners, Edinburgh World Heritage protects and champions this collective identity for current and future generations. By respectfully restoring our buildings, sensitively improving our shared spaces, implementing sustainable practices or recounting tales from our past, we nurture a common sense of belonging while enabling essential repair.
These partnerships also help to strengthen Edinburgh’s sense of self. Working together, we connect distant ancestors with their history; homeowners with essential funding; businesses with practical advice; children and young people with resources; and marginalised groups with a voice. But as with any independent charity, our work has its challenges.
The evolving pressures of climate change, financial instability and increased tourism mean our work is critical, perhaps now more than ever. By embracing our passion, expertise and independence, we can advocate for, build and maintain an inspirational and empowering place to live, work, study or visit — no matter who you are.
Who are we?
Edinburgh World Heritage has a team of dedicated staff, volunteers and interns. Together, we tackle the combined challenges of looking after a historic city.
Our role explained
Working alongside City of Edinburgh Council and Historic Environment Scotland, we are charged with looking after Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As external experts, we advise the City of Edinburgh Council on the impact of change on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the World Heritage Site. This relates to both the requirements of the World Heritage Convention and local plan policy ENV1.
What is our role in the planning system?
In general, this relates to change on a larger scale rather than more minor scale changes, which are subject to statutory requirements such as Conservation Area Consent and Listed Building Consent. In addition to this, we offer both formal and informal advice to the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) on its proposals for changes to the streetscape.
Our role within the system is non-statutory and aims to avoid replicating the work and expertise of other bodies in the planning system.
Edinburgh World Heritage receives a contribution from the City of Edinburgh Council in recognition of its service.
How is our role governed?
Our role in the planning system is formally governed by a planning protocol agreed with the City of Edinburgh Council and Historic Environment Scotland., who fund part of our work.
The planning protocol defines the different roles of the partners in the management of the World Heritage Site. It identifies when Edinburgh World Heritage becomes involved in the planning process and the extent and nature of that involvement.
The essence of the protocol is to encourage early engagement to ensure the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site is considered by development teams. Planning discussions are led on Edinburgh World Heritage’s behalf by the Director. The positions we arrive at result from discussions within our Senior Management Team, informed by our corporate understanding of OUV, and represent a corporate position. The Edinburgh World Heritage Board is informed of current discussions at its regular meetings.
How do we evaluate potential impact on the Site?
When advising City of Edinburgh Council, we consider the following elements (where possible, we show the work behind our conclusions, in larger cases as a separate document to the primary letter of advice):
- The Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site, as defined in the inscription
- Statement of Significance (documents outlining the history and development of a property that highlights the key features that make the properties unique).
- The attributes are discussed in the World Heritage Site Management Plans.
- Attributes as identified in the Nomination Document.
- Attributes as per the advisory body evaluation.
- Where relevant, individual receptors.
- Local plan policy ENV1.
How is our advice used?
Principally, our advice notes the impact of planning proposals on Outstanding Universal Value.
Generally it does not include “object” or “support” (only in exceptional circumstances).
The City of Edinburgh Council usually reproduces our advice on development proposals in full in reports to the Development Management Sub-Committee.
Members of the Development Management Sub-Committee then give this advice appropriate weight in its deliberations against other considerations – social, economic, transport or others.
Other considerations
Aside from formal consultations, Edinburgh World Heritage provides informal advice on the myriad of smaller changes at street level which cumulatively have the potential to impact Outstanding Universal Value.
In other World Heritage sites, this advice is mainstreamed within the governing body, with officers and structures able to ensure positive change at early stages.
CEC does not have the internal capacity or structure to allow this, and so it falls to Edinburgh World Heritage to act as an external coordinator.
The community of the World Heritage Site is not directly mentioned in the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value or the attributes. Yet without a residential community, it is our view is that the city loses part of its authenticity.
This creates a challenge for us in planning/OUV terms to:
- Articulate the importance of intangible elements, including as community.
- Weigh the impact on community, and the cost to the community of the loss of opportunity, against the impact on the built environment.
Thinking around the relationship between World Heritage, communities and culture has moved on substantially since the inscription of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site in 1995. There is clearly space for a new policy from CEC in relation to the World Heritage Site and community. The new local plan provides an opportunity to revise this.
Our history
Edinburgh World Heritage was established on 31st March 1999. It inherited the tradition of work undertaken by two bodies:
Edinburgh New Town Conservation Committee: established in 1971 to tackle the economic and physical problems that threatened the Georgian New Town at that time; and
Edinburgh Old Town Committee for Conservation and Renewal (which changed its name to Edinburgh Old Town Renewal Trust): established in 1985 with an emphasis on renovation and re-development of the Old Town appropriate to its then near-derelict and depopulated state
At its inception, Edinburgh World Heritage was given the following Terms of Reference by its sponsors, the Scottish Government (now via Historic Environment Scotland) and the City of Edinburgh Council:
- Historic Building Grants: To stimulate and coordinate action for the conservation and repair of historic buildings in the World Heritage Site.
- Conservation Area Issues: To promote the preservation and enhancement of the Site’s character and to develop and maintain an Action Plan.
- Advice: To advise Scottish Ministers and the Local Authority on significant policy and development issues and to comment on other planning issues as necessary.
- Monitoring: To monitor the Site on behalf of Scottish Ministers and to inform and advise organisations involved in the management of the City Centre.
- Projects: To initiate projects and attract funding for the preservation and enhancement of the Site.
- Promotion: To promote the World Heritage Site through education, exhibitions, conferences and examples of skill and good practice.
These have since evolved with the organisation.
