UNESCO: 80th Anniversary

Shaun Davies Excerpts

Tuesday 18th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Shaun Davies (Telford) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies) for securing this debate on such an important topic. He is an excellent chair of the APPG, to which he brings passion and knowledge, and I am a proud member of it. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) for mentioning Ironbridge Gorge in my constituency, ensuring that that special place has a double hit in this debate.

The founding of UNESCO out of the ruins of the second world war brought together the nations of the world to develop a shared understanding of our collective history and culture. Through the designation of world heritage sites, many areas of cultural and natural heritage have been conserved and protected. As the Member of Parliament for Telford, I am proud to represent one of the first six UK sites to be inscribed as a world heritage site: the Ironbridge Gorge, which is the birthplace of the industrial revolution. It is a fantastic example of the importance of world heritage site status, with hundreds of thousands of visitors every year learning about the ingenuity and hard work of ordinary men, women and, in some cases, children who went before us.

Ironbridge Gorge is key to Telford’s identity and is a major contributor to the local economy. The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust alone attracts 400,000 visitors, employs more than 200 staff and brings in £6 million every year to our local economy. That is even before we get into the other amazing businesses throughout the Ironbridge Gorge, such as the world-famous Eley’s pork pie shop, Merrythought teddy bear shop and some very fine cafés and restaurants, not to mention a few pubs I may have frequented over the years. The local council, Telford and Wrekin council, works with a range of partners to manage the world heritage site and preserve the many monuments of the industrial revolution, including Europe’s first coke-fired blast furnace and the world’s first single-span iron bridge—part of a landscape that has inspired artists from Turner to John Nash.

There is much to celebrate about UNESCO’s 80th year. Next year will be 40 years since Ironbridge Gorge’s designation—a significant birthday it shares with me. However, I also want to look to the future and at how we can make our world heritage sites more sustainable. The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust recently set out plans to merge with the National Trust, thanks in part to a £9 million grant from the Government. I can say with certainty that the world heritage site was incredibly valuable in securing that support from the Government. As well as the legal protections the world heritage site provides, there is the more informal protection afforded to world heritage sites by the sheer value of that status.

The UNESCO world heritage site has played a big role in making the Ironbridge visitor economy sustainable for years, and it will continue to do so. However, many of the world’s natural and cultural treasures face significant challenges, and the Ironbridge Gorge is no exception. It suffers from ground instability, and more frequent and severe flooding linked to climate change. The council and the Government have made significant investments in stabilisation works over many years, and are working together against the risks of flooding. That includes a recent £700,000 grant from the Government to support the walls of the river, and a £1.2 million grant to protect individual properties.

To conclude, it is ever more important, in a turbulent global environment, to ensure that these crucial sites are protected for years to come, so that those who come after us never forget the stories of the ordinary men and women who contributed to our great country. I put on record my formal thanks to the Ironbridge Gorge world heritage site steering group, chaired by Professor Ken Sloan, to Ironbridge councillor Carolyn Healy, and to both Telford and Wrekin council and the Gorge parish council for their work. Most importantly, I pay tribute to the businesses, residents and organisations who make this such a special, wonderful place to live, work, visit and enjoy.

[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

Alas, I am going to have to drop the time limit for speeches to four minutes.