30 C O N T E X T 1 0 9 : M A Y 2 0 0 9 iron replacement. At the historic ironworks (c1789), the best-preserved ironworks of the period in the world, high-tech solutions were required to stabilise the retaining walls and furnaces, which were never intended to survive for 200 years. Blaenavon was the first UK world heritage site where the leadership in nomination and management was taken by the local authority (Torfaen County Borough Council). The extensive area of the site and its wide range of features mean that a number of authorities and agencies have interest in the identification, protection, preservation, conservation, presentation and promotion of the site. The unashamed aim of the council was to use international recognition of the unique industrial heritage not only to assure the protection of monuments, the landscape and the historic town, but to use this as a catalyst for regeneration of the area. Blaenavon was the first recognised ‘cultural landscape’ in the UK. In the mid 1990s Unesco and its advisor ICOMOS began to emphasise the importance of the interaction between man’s activities and the natural John Rodger is Blaenavon world heritage coordinator and special advisor. The views set out in this article must not be taken as the official view of any of the Blaenavon Partnership members. landscape. Blaenavon is an excellent example of this concept. Monuments to the early iron industry, Blaenavon Ironworks and the Wales coal industry can be seen in the context of a rich relict landscape, demonstrating the continuous activities of mineral extraction and production over 200 years.This landscape exhibits the ‘combined works of nature and man’. The historic town of Blaenavon, with the slate-roofed stone and brick terraced homes of the workers and their commercial, social, educational and religious buildings, can be seen as a part of the cultural landscape. An increased focus on the landscape will be advanced by the Forgotten Landscapes project, recently approved by the Heritage Lottery Fund, worth about £3 million over the next four years. This is a remarkable, trendsetting holistic approach to landscape management based on maximising stakeholder involvement (see www.forgottenlandscapes.org). Aworld heritage sitemanagement planwas submitted to Unesco in 1999. It identified the Blaenavon Partnership and described a management structure through which the 13 partners would work together while retaining their own autonomy.The plan listed 59 projects, which have all been successfully delivered. Projects have ranged from town-centre commercial and residential renewal and associated environmental improvements, to upgrading main monuments, and improving access to the landscape with walks and cycleways to widen the appeal for visitors. Funding has been secured from the European Union, theWales Assembly Government and its agencies, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the local authorities. Contributions have also been made by the private sector. Total expenditure in the area over the past 10 years is estimated to be £40 million. Blaenavon Ironworks: the council’s aim was to use international recognition of the unique industrial heritage not only to assure the protection of monuments, the landscape and the historic town, but as a catalyst for the area’s regeneration. An illuminating experience at the Big Pit National Coal Museum
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