COULD an elite list of world heritage locations like the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China soon include Tavistock? The town is about to find out. The decision on the biggest and most complex bid ever submitted for consideration as a world heritage site ? the Cornwall and West Devon?s Mining Heritage bid ? is expected to be announced at Morwellham tomorrow (Friday.) Tavistock, with its rich mining history, is the gateway town in a project which tells the story of the industrial heritage of the area and celebrates its universal significance. A status of this significance would bring millions of pounds into the area and create a tourism boom. Already projects in the Tamar Valley have attracted major funding through the Heritage Lottery fund because of their link to the bid. UNESCO?s world heritage committee will be considering this single UK bid along with 26 other cultural sites across the globe. West Devon Borough Council?s planning chief Stephen Gill, who is a member of the bid partnership, said everyone had their fingers crossed. ?We have no idea which way it will go ? it is very difficult to judge,? he said. ?We have won a lot of praise for the complexity of the bid but because of this there are more questions raised. ?If we fail it will not be for the want of trying or community support which is one of the key factors. Across the area and particularly in West Devon there has been a terrific amount of support.? Mr Gill, whose great grandfather was a Cornish miner, said this was a very exciting project and a huge challenge. ?We are trying to make Tavistock a place of international significance like the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal . ?Tavistock is the eastern gateway to the area?s mining heritage and the planned interpretation centre will be the starting point for visitors who can explore other sites in the Tamar Valley and the rest of Cornwall,? he said. ?What gives this bid its outstanding universal significance is the way the mining culture of this area was transported around the world by the miners themselves ? it spread to Australia, South Africa and North America. ?That is why you can go to Mexico today and they have pasty shops, why they play rugby in South Africa and Australia and have brass bands and Methodist churches. You can see mini West Devons and Cornwalls all around the world.? The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Heritage bid encompasses ten locations including St Just, Hayle and Camborne in Cornwall and parts of Caradon. Tavistock was largely rebuilt in the mid 19th Century using profits from the copper mining industry. The Duke of Bedford built cottages, which still stand today, to provide desperately needed housing for miners working at what would prove to be the richest copper lode in the Westcountry ? Devon Great Consols mine.
