Share your views on future management of Avebury World Heritage site (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Share your views on future management of Avebury World Heritage site

11:25am Tuesday 31st July 2012 in News By Nigel Kerton

People who live in Avebury or who visit the village and would like to have a say about the way the village famous for its stone circles and Silbury Hill is managed, will be given an opportunity when the World Heritage Site Management Plan is updated.

World Heritage Site officer Sarah Simmons said it was vitally important that those with an interest in the village were involved in revising the last management plan created in 2005.

She said: “It is important that the process of review and update involves extensive engagement with World Heritage Site stakeholders including the wider public and the local community whose expertise and knowledge should help to shape the updated management plan.”

There will be two opportunities for the public to put forward their ideas and suggestions, at the Avebury Social centre next Tuesday.

Interested people are invited to drop in and share their ideas on the Avebury World Heritage Site and the opportunities and challenges it faces. People's input will then help to inform the update of the Avebury World Heritage Site Management Plan.

Ms Simmonds will be available to answer questions and listen to ideas at drop in sessions in the Social Centre on Avebury High Street next Tuesday between 2 -7 pm and in Marlborough Library on Monday, August 13, between 2 -7pm.

Ms Simmonds said: “This is an opportunity to share your ideas at an early stage in the process of review and update before the preparation of the draft plan.”

The formal round of consultation on the draft management plan will take place in 2013 before it is submitted to the government and UNESCO for ratification.

Management plans provide a framework for meeting the United Kingdom’s obligation to protect its 15 World Heritage Sites.

They carry weight in the planning system and aim to establish a balance between conservation, access and interpretation, local community interests, and sustainable use of WHS’s.

UNESCO recommends that management plans are updated on regular basis to ensure that they remain relevant and Ms Simmonds said: “The updated plan will need to reflect progress on objectives set out in the 2005 plan and emerging opportunities and challenges as well as changes in the management context.”

Those unable to attend drop in sessions can find a leaflet on Wiltshire Council website or pick up a hard copy Sarah Simmonds by calling 01225 718470 or emailing sarah.simmonds@wiltshire.gov.uk.

The 2005 Avebury management plan can be found on the council website.