The proposed guidelines for enhancement of legislative protection of the property and the buffer zone are result of the evaluation of the present state and the requirements of the World Heritage Convention. The proposals concern the statute and protection regimes (boundaries and prescriptions).
Statute of legislative protection
Taking into account the evaluation of the current legislative protection of the property (see IV, it. 1), the MP proposes that the statute “Archaeological Reserve” should remain in force. Alongside this, it recommends that there should be a procedure for granting “The Ancient City of Nessebar” a statute of “group architectural and urbanistic immovable heritage site “historic settlement” with a category “national significance” after the CHA (art. 65, par. 2) and in accordance with the provisions of the CHA (art. 47, items 3, 4 and 5 and art, 48, it. 2). These two types of statute will create a complex and highest statute of legislative protection of the property after the national legislation, which would fully correspond to its outstanding universal value.
Protection regimes
According to the Bulgarian legislation (CHA, art. 79), ‘by the protection regime of the immovable heritage site are indicated the territorial scope and the conservation prescriptions of the immovable heritage site and its environment’.
(1) Boundaries of ”The Ancient City of Nessebar” according to the national legislation
The analysis and evaluation of the legislative protection give grounds for the MP to propose: the boundaries of “The Ancient City of Nessebar” as defined after the national legislation should coincide with those of the property as defined by the international legislation (the World Heritage Convention). On one hand, this would facilitate the management of the protected territory, as well as the coordination with the World Heritage Committee and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. On the other hand, the boundaries of the property most accurately correspond to the archaeological potential of the territory with a statute “Archaeological Reserve” as well as to its values as a “group architectural and urbanistic immovable heritage site “historic settlement” with a category “national significance”.
By October 2012 the procedure for amendment of the boundaries of the Archaeological Reserve in the sense pointed out above is already in progress. The procedure for defining the statute and the boundaries of the “Group architectural and urbanistic immovable heritage site “historic settlement” with a category “national significance” is forthcoming.
The MP provides also for procedures for granting a statute of heritage site of newly identified sites like the Necropolis of Messambria-Messemvria-Nessebar on the mainland (by October 2012 the procedure is already in progress). A revision of the statute of some existing heritage sites is also proposed.
(2) Boundaries of the protection/buffer zone of “The Ancient City of Nessebar”
The MP complies with the existing practice in our country, where the protection zones of an immovable heritage site after the Bulgarian legislation correspond to the buffer zones of the property after the World Heritage Convention. The Plan proposes ensuring of such a correspondence between the buffer and the protection zone of “The Ancient City of Nessebar” in the manner as follows below (SCHEME № 10: Evolution of the boundaries of the protected areas and proposal for new boundaries).
Scheme 10: Evolution of the boundaries of the protected areas and proposal for new boundaries
For each of the indicated two types of statute of “The Ancient City of Nessebar” can be determined protection zones with different territorial scope:
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For the Archaeological Reserve, the protection zones can include: (a) the part of the peninsula outside the boundaries of the reserve; (b) the territory of the isthmus; and (c) the part of the aquatory in a scope motivated through underwater archaeological research;
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For the Group architectural and urbanistic immovable heritage site “historic settlement” with a category “national significance” the protection zones can include: (a) the part of the peninsula outside the boundaries of the reserve; (b) the territory of the isthmus; and (c) the current protection zone of the archaeological reserve on the mainland excluding the peripheral western areas (to the east of Zornitsa Street), as they no longer meet the requirements for a protection zone with certain regimes, being already entirely built-up.
In this situation, complying with the requirements of the Guidelines (§ 103-107), the MP proposes that the buffer zone of the property should include the following territories:
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The part of the peninsula outside the boundaries of the Archaeological Reserve (13.04 ha);
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The territory of the isthmus (1.12 ha);
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The proposed protection zone of the Group architectural and urbanistic immovable heritage site “historic settlement” with the pointed out amendment of its western boundary (after the reduction the area of the zone will be 8.65 ha);
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The part of the aquatory, which is protection zone of the archaeological reserve (the area of the aquatory on the map submitted to UNESCO in 2007 is 1 231.06 ha).
This proposal generally corresponds to the documents concerning the buffer zone submitted by the Bulgarian state to the World Heritage Centre in 2005 and 2007. The MP proposes only the following “minor modification”: from the buffer zone to be excluded the western areas on the mainland (to the east of Zornitsa Street), which no longer meet the requirements for a buffer zonebeing entirely built-up.
(3) Prescriptions
The MP offers as pilot product № 1, a clear, comprehensible and well-grounded system of prescriptions for conservation of the property and its buffer zone. The prescriptions are elaborated by the NIICH in the scope of its competence; they are not a part of the MP and shall be adopted by another procedure in accordance to the CHA (art. 69, par.1). It is important to emphasise that the prescriptions completely correspond to the MP and in particular – to the structural analysis of the territory performed according to the parameters of the outstanding universal value (see III).
First of all, general prescriptions are developed, valid for the conservation of the property and the buffer zone, in its entire territorial scope. There are defined the requirements and restrictions regarding: the type and scope of the documentations of the spatial planning and investment projects; the function of the territories and the admissible urban functions; street regulation plans; communication services; type of building-up; networks and equipments of the technical infrastructure; urban development activities and public landscaping. Thus the MP aims at preserving and restoring the qualities of urban fabric.
Secondly, are determined specific areas in the property and the buffer zone and for each area are proposed differentiated prescriptions in accordance with the set parameters of the outstanding universal value.
The territorial structure of the prescriptions is presented on SCHEME № 11: Proposal for territorial structure of the protection regimes.
Scheme 11: Proposal for territorial structure of the protection regimes
During the Public Discussion of the MP were made numerous remarks and recommendations addressing the Prescriptions for conservation (e.g. recommendations for the attic spaces of the buildings, for the openings in the stone walls in the ground floors, for the treatment of the air conditioners, etc.). They are submitted to NIICH and will be taken into account in the redaction of the Prescriptions.
Programme activities
The MP programmes the following series of practical activities for the enhancement of the legislative protection whose urgency imposes their implementation in Programme 2012 for urgent actions:
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Updating of the statute “Archaeological, architectural and urbanistic reserve “Ancient Nessebar” and proceeding of the protection regimes;
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Proceeding the granting of a statute Group architectural and urbanistic immovable heritage site “historic settlement” with a category “national significance”;
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Submitting to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of the motivated proposal for “minor modification” of the boundaries of the buffer zone;
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Development of proposals for including of newly excavated archaeological sites in the Register (the Necropolis of Messambria-Messemvria-Nessebar, etc.);
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Proceeding the granting of a statute of immovable heritage site of the identified potential heritage site Cultural route “Traditional directions of the Christian faith and cults in the Ancient City of Nessebar”.
During the next programme periods until (2032) will be provided regular procedures for granting of a statute of “immovable heritage site” to identified heritage properties.