A BUSINESS boom worth millions and sparking a substantial jobs increase has been predicted for the Tavistock and Tamar Valley area, following last week?s announcement that its mining landscape had been declared a World Heritage site. The decision was made by UNESCO?s world heritage committee which met in Lithuania last week. It puts the ten sites in West Devon and Cornwall on a par with such famous sites as the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and the Grand Canyon. But Steven Gill, West Devon Borough Council's planning chief, who has been heavily involved in the partnership team preparing the complicated bid, said this area was unique amongst World Heritage Sites. Mr Gill said: ?What is so unique is this is a whole area, it?s not a single building, and we in Tavistock are the gateway to it. ?I think what can?t be underestimated, and what is difficult to put a price on, is the sense of pride and confidence in the area this status will bring. ?This in itself is likely to boost business, quite apart from the increase in tourism.? Mr Gill said the partners who had been involved in bidding for World Heritage Status were now working on a variety of strategies to take the area forward. Technology and ICT would play an important role ? for example, high-tech touch-screen information centres were likely to be introduced at key points throughout the area, enabling visitors to learn about the history of particular sites and how they linked to others within the two counties. Image branding and marketing strategies would also be worked up. Planning policies would also have to be handled carefully to protect the setting and character of every site within the World Heritage Area. Mr Gill said: ?It?s important that all the different authorities are singing from the same hymn sheet. ?But the key thing regarding planning isn?t that nothing can go ahead ? quite the opposite. This is a living, working environment, that is the importance of it and we are determined to keep it that way. The key considerations will be to develop and protect the outstanding value of the area.? Cllr Robin Pike, West Devon ward member for Tamarside, said the status was ?fantastic? for the Tavistock area. Cllr Pike said aspects of the mining culture had been transported from West Devon and Cornwall all over the world. The benefits to tourism from those interested in history and in retracing their roots would be huge, he said. ?Evidence from other World Heritage Sites prove that the status brings in more visitors and more money, which in turn will lead to more jobs as well as protecting existing jobs too. ?It's already been estimated the new status will bring in an extra 60,000 visitors to Cornwall and West Devon every year.? The World Heritage Site covers minding landscapes from 1700 to 1914, when deep hard-rock mining was developed locally and major technological developments within the area helped transform mining locally and worldwide. The site includes the mines themselves, remains of early infrastructure and surviving evidence of its social and economic consequences. Devon Great Consols mine near Tavistock was the richest copper mine in Europe and over a 50 year period produced more than any other mine in the world. Landowner the 7th Duke of Bedford gained enormous wealth from sales of ore and transformed Tavistock during the 19th century.