Exploiting Cornwall’s Mining Heritage

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter is about the economic exploitation of the former tin and copper mines in Cornwall. The neoliberal governments of the 1980s and early 1990s took measures to turn the abandoned mines in this region into tourist attractions. Commercial exploitation of historic mining areas was seen as a panacea against the negative economic effects of industrial decline. However, this approach met much resistance. Not only did the local population feel that they hardly benefited from the economic changes, they also feared the Anglicization of the regional culture. Many Cornish residents did not recognize themselves in the overly romantic image that the tourist industry painted of the illustrious industrial past and demanded greater control over the representation and exploitation of Cornwall’s heritage. As a result, industrial heritage became the stage of an unequal struggle between Cornish regionalists and the centralist government in London. The question of who controls Cornwall’s heritage, became even more urgent when the former tin and copper mines of Cornwall were placed on the World Heritage List. This chapter focuses on a controversy surrounding the construction of a supermarket in the World Heritage Site, thereby revealing the tensions between local, national and international actors. UNESCO and ICOMOS experts objected to the construction plans, while the local authorities were in favor of the construction of the supermarket. The controversy shows, among other things, that the British heritage regime and the UNESCO bureaucracy were not always aligned. For example, the World Heritage Committee only meets once a year to make decisions about World Heritage Sites, while the responsible authorities in Great Britain have a legal obligation to decide on building permit applications within twenty-one days. This example shows that the uncertainty that existed in the 1980s about the implementation of the World Heritage Convention still largely existed at the beginning of the twenty-first century.