Views sought on world-class sites

People have been asked for their views on what sites in Scotland deserve Unesco World Heritage.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport is consulting UK-wide on the protection of designated locations and whether new ones should be nominated.

Scottish Culture Minister Linda Fabiani said Scots should add their comments.

Five sites in Scotland already have the designation, while Loch Ness and St Andrews could be considered for nomination in the future.

Unesco's World Heritage Committee has asked countries with the greatest number of existing sites to slow down or suspend their nominations in favour of less represented nations.

WORLD HERITAGE FACT FILE

• The status covers 878 sites - 27 of them are in the UK.
• China, Italy, France and Spain are among the countries with the most designations.
• The Democratic Republic of Congo, which covers an area of 905,354 sq miles, is among those with the fewest sites with five.

In 2005 it also recommended that priority would be given to natural sites such as grasslands, wetlands or deserts.

Scotland's five Unesco heritage sites are the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, the islands of St Kilda, the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, New Lanark and the Antonine Wall.

UK nominations to be considered as new heritage sites are taken from tentative list drawn up in 1999.

Scottish places on this are the Cairngorm Mountains, Forth Rail Bridge and the Flow Country in Caithness.

St Andrews, Arbroath Abbey, the Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed Glasgow School of Art and the Hill House in Helensburgh, along with Loch Ness and the Great Glen, have been suggested for future consideration.

Ms Fabiani said people across Scotland were proud to have so many sites already recognised.

She added: "I would urge those with direct experience of managing these World Heritage sites, those with ambitions for possible future nominations and those that have an interest in them, take this opportunity to express their views."

The consultation will close on 24 February and copies of the consultation document and a report into the cost benefit analysis of World Heritage status can be found at www.culture.gov.uk.

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