Port Sunlight’s Unsuccessful World Heritage Bid

In April 2023, we discovered Port Sunlight had sadly not been chosen to join the UK’s Tentative List for World Heritage Site inscription, following a bid we submitted in 2022.

The bid followed many years of encouragement and desire by the local community and politicians to have Port Sunlight’s importance recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It had support from our strategic partners Wirral Council, National Museums Liverpool and Unilever, and included significant research and consultation with village residents. You can view this here: bit.ly/WHS-research.

Despite not being selected, we will build on the research, partnership working and community engagement that went into the bid. We will also work with other global heritage sites to share learnings and promote each other. This can only strengthen our work to make Port Sunlight inspiring and accessible place to live, work and visit for generations to come.

If there is support for Port Sunlight to submit another bid to join the UK’s Tentative List in the future, the next opportunity to do this is likely a decade away.

Our belief in Port Sunlight’s global value has not been diminished and we will continue to protect and promote the village, which played such an influential role in the development of healthy, beautiful communities for working class people around the world.

Alongside Port Sunlight’s bid, another unrelated bid was also put forward by nearby Birkenhead Park to be added to the Tentative List, which was successful. It’s a big moment for the Wirral, not only for the area’s heritage to be recognised globally but also for our local communities who care so deeply about the special places on their doorstep.

Discover more about our ongoing work and research about Port Sunlight’s Global Story.