Management Plan

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Managing the World Heritage Site

At 19,710 hectares over ten Areas, crossing from Cornwall into Devon, the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape (‘Cornish Mining’) World Heritage Site is the largest industrial World Heritage Site in the UK, with multiple owners and management interests and around 90,000 residents. 

The World Heritage Site Management Plan

The World Heritage Site Management Plan, for the period 2020-2025, is the second since inscription of the mining landscape of Cornwall and west Devon as a World Heritage Site (WHS), by UNESCO in 2006. 

The Management Plan has been adopted by the partner local authorities (Cornwall Council, West Devon Borough Council and Devon County Council) and can be downloaded using the links below (it is divided into four sections for ease of use).

The purpose of the Management Plan

The Management Plan is designed as a framework within which the various management interests work to ensure that our internationally significant mining landscape is cared for and its international importance understood and celebrated, in line with the obligations set out in the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972). The Plan framework also enables the mining landscape to adapt to meet the needs of the people who live within the Site whilst ensuring its Outstanding Universal Value (international importance) is protected.  

PDF document reader software may be required for this which can be downloaded from the Adobe website if necessary.

The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site Management Plan 2020-2025

  • Pages 01 - 23 - Preface, Foreword, Introduction and Brief Description of the Site
  • Pages 24 - 89 - Area descriptions, The Setting of the World Heritage Site, Governance
  • Pages 90 - 148 - Issues and Opportunities
  • Pages 149 - 180 - Policy Framework and Strategic Actions, Monitoring Arrangements

Management Plan Appendices 1 - 3

To see where the World Heritage Site Areas are within Cornwall and west Devon, please use the links to the interactive mapping below.

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly's Historic Environment Interactive Mapping

Devon County Council Environment Viewer

Static maps of the ten World Heritage Site Areas can be seen by using the links below.

For information about planning development within the World Heritage Site, please see our Planning within the World Heritage Site page.