Strategic planning and place branding in a World Heritage cultural landscape: a case study of the English Lake District, UK

ABSTRACT

What roles do strategic planning and place branding play in the context of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS)? Here it is theorized that the processes associated with the nomination and management of WHS cultural landscapes involve an integration of planning and branding, with both practices influencing the articulation of a place’s universal value. A descriptive qualitative case study of the Lake District National Park, UK, traces the ways in which this cultural landscape was conceptualized, managed and communicated through the work of the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) between 2006 and 2018. This illustrates how inscription of the English Lake District as a WHS in 2017 was a result of a Partnership approach to governance by the LDNPA, and that the Partnership’s vision of ‘sustainable development in action’ responded to planning and branding imperatives. The resulting WHS inscription recognized an ‘evolving’ cultural landscape comprising multiple landscape identities and interests – agro-pastoral, artistic/literary, and nature conservation – which are simultaneously managed through planning and promoted through leveraging the WHS brand.

KEYWORDS:

• Planning
• place branding
• national park
• partnership
• World Heritage
• cultural landscape

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Built environment designers, including architects, landscape architects and urban designers, are also implicated in the identification, mediation and creation of place identities. For examples of this relationship (see Porter, 2016).

2 The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies English national parks as protected area management ‘Category V: Protected Landscape/Seascape’, as distinct from ‘Category II: National Parks’ (Dudley, cited in Tatum, et al., p. 168.)

3 In some cases are the same person performs multiple roles, for example being LDNPA head of communications and head of commercial operations.

4 Leading up to the 2017 inscription, the Partnership undertook external communications campaigns to garner support. A campaign #We Are the Lakes’ publicized the nomination itself, and following the July 2017 inscription several publicity and PR campaigns ensued, such as a Royal Mail stamp and a launch event attended by royalty, politicians and over 100 local organizations.

5 The Lake District Partnership accepts suggestions for additional words from stakeholders.