A BID for World Heritage Site status for historic mining sites in Cornwall and West Devon has been delayed for a year, while more detail is gathered for the project.

The bid is now due to be submitted to UNESCO by February 2005.

If successful, sites in Cornwall and West Devon would join famous locations such as Stonehenge, the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China on the list of safeguarded sites.

National advisers last week agreed that the World Heritage Site bid is on the right track, but will need an extra year due to the sheer scale of the project.

The bid was not due to be submitted to UNESCO ? United Nations Education Social and Cultural Organisation until 2004.

However a pre-submitted review by a group which advises the government on the viability of bids agreed that it would be beneficial to delay the bid for one year due to its constantly evolving nature and the amount of detail required.

Stephen Gill, West Devon

Borough Council?s head of planning and development said: ?We understand fully the reasons behind the delay.

?As we have been saying all along, the difficulty with this bid is its exceptional complexity compared to other bids in the past due to its sheer size, the geographical area it covers and the amount of information we are trying to gather.?

Mr Gill said delaying the submission of the bid might improve the chance of success.

?What is important is getting in a bid that will be successful; an extra year will certainly help,? he added.

Mr Gill said the preparation of a management plan for the bid was likely to be the most time-consuming aspect of the process.

The Cornwall County Council delivered World Heritage Site bid is unusual in that it is based on both a landscape and cultural approach.

It has been necessary to examine not only mine sites but sites and structures reflecting important changes in transport networks, infrastructure, economy and settlement of Cornwall and West Devon linked to the mining industry, which was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution.

Susan Denyer from ICOMOS UK ? the International Council on Monuments and Sites ? said managing the sites, which were scattered over several areas, was a challenge.

?I strongly support the county council?s decision to give more time to pulling together this complex bid in order to gain the strong involvement and support of local people, and to show how the bid can be one of the key drivers for sustainable development in the region.?

Cornwall?s mining heritage was named in 1999 by the Government as one of 25 possible sites it would like to see put up for World Heritage Site status.

As well as recognising the unique role of Cornish mining in shaping modern industrial society, World Heritage Site ?inscription? would also bring tangible benefits to the region.

It could prove a major asset to international tourism and assist the regeneration of former mining communities.

l See story, page 9