Edinburgh Council has asked for the public’s views on the World Heritage nomination of the Forth Bridge.

They will be sought through a 12-week consultation, which began this week.

The Forth Bridges Forum – which includes a number of local and national organisations – is keen to gather input from individuals and interested parties in support of the iconic railway bridge’s nomination.

It also wants to hear people’s views on how the potential social, economic and cultural benefits of World Heritage can be managed in the local and national interest.

The consultation will seek views on the benefits a successful bid could deliver for the local communities, as well as in wider areas such as tourism, education, skills and innovation. It will also help inform the development of the Bridge’s World Heritage Management Plan, which is essential for any World Heritage Site in ensuring effective management, protection and promotion.

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The UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced in May 2012 that the 19th-Century landmark mild-steel structure would be the first site from the revised UK Tentative List to be put forward to UNESCO for nomination. Since then a significant amount of work, including local community engagement and focus groups, has been carried out to prepare for this consultation and the subsequent stages of this process.

Information gathered over the coming weeks will contribute to the final document, which will be submitted to UNESCO in early 2014, with consideration for World Heritage Site inscription taking place in 2015.

Launching the consultation, Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs said: "The Forth Bridge is an iconic and enduring symbol of Scotland’s Victorian engineering ingenuity at its very best. It truly is deserving of World Heritage Site status and as a new industrial heritage site would join our five existing Scottish World Heritage sites in achieving this international recognition.

"Securing this status would be an enormous honour and source of pride, not only for the communities of North and South Queensferry, but for Scotland as a whole.

"The designation will deliver numerous benefits, and a key aspect of the consultation will be to consider how these would benefit the Bridges local communities to ensure that the World Heritage Site would be sustainable."

The Forth Bridge World Heritage Consultation will close on Sunday 11 August.

(JP/MH)