Protecting the setting of Kew Gardens World Heritage Site
CBA was commissioned to undertake a study to develop an understanding of how the setting of the UNESCO World Heritage Site contributes to its Outstanding Universal Value
With its roots in the earliest Arcadian history of the English Landscape Movement, Kew Gardens is an extraordinary landscape. Through almost three centuries of landscape change, Kew Gardens' various famous designers cultivated the Arcadian character of the site through the artful articulation and re-articulation of the relationship between the site and its environs. Various design devices for controlling views of the outside world were repeatedly employed to strong and lasting effect, which reinforced the rural, exotic and 'otherworldly' character of the Gardens.
The current Management Plan for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew World Heritage Site highlights the growing issues posed by inappropriate development around the Site. The primary cause of this concern is the development of tall buildings visible from within the Gardens, which have the potential to affect the setting and conservation of the Site's Outstanding Universal Value. In this context, CBA was commissioned to undertake a study to develop an understanding of how the setting of the UNESCO World Heritage Site contributes to its Outstanding Universal Value. The Setting Study aims to inform planning decisions and provide a foundation for policies in the updated Management Plan.
CBA has also been instructed to act as an expert witness on behalf of Kew Gardens in support of planning inquiries into proposed tall buildings within the setting of the World Heritage Site.