Bath could get a rare double listing as a World Heritage site under an idea floated by a collection of spa towns and cities across Europe.
The Great Spas of Europe project wants the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to grant World Heritage status to 11 of its members, including Bath.
Such a move, it says, would boost tourism and global awareness of the cities. As well as the status and marketing potential, a successful nomination would also have great international networking potential, according to the Great Spas of Europe.
For example, Baden Baden hosted the G20 Economic Summit last year. The status would also enable the Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES) to take advantage of any possible European funding streams which require partners.
If approved by UNESCO it would make Bath the only UK city to appear twice on the World Heritage list. European cities with a ‘double mention’ include Bruges and Barcelona.
Bath has been classified as a World Heritage location since 1987, when it was included as a ‘cultural site’.
The report by the Great Spas of Europe on the nomination to UNESCO says Bath is now one of the highest-ranking spa towns in the group of 11, which also includes Spa in Belgium, Vichy in France and Baden Baden in Germany.
UNESCO World Heritage status remains the most prestigious and highly coveted accolade bestowed on any heritage site and marks a place as being of global significance.
B&NES cabinet meets next Wednesday and is being recommended to endorse the proposal ahead of submission to UNESCO in January 2019.
Council cabinet member for development and regeneration Paul Myers said: “This nomination, if successful, would give global recognition to Bath as a leading international spa destination and be a huge shot in the arm for tourism.
“Tourism provides thousands of jobs in and around the city and it also brings in millions of pounds every year and so being able to say Bath is a doubly-inscribed UNESCO World Heritage site is something only a very small number of places worldwide can make.”
A report to the council says the cost of the project since its inception in 2013 has been around £210,000 – less than a third of the £1m spent by the Lake District last year when it became the last UK location to gain World Heritage status.
