The politics of managing a World Heritage Site: the complex case of Hadrian's Wall

Managing sites that cover large areas or have multiple designations within their boundary can be challenging, particularly if several organisations are responsible for managing different aspects of the site. Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site (WHS) was designated for its archaeological importance which is of universal significance. The management of Hadrian's Wall is formalised in the WHS Management Plan (20082014), which aims to cover different objectives, with archaeology at the core of management. This article draws on management documents of the WHS, established visitor planning frameworks and qualitative interviews with managers along Hadrian's Wall to discuss the evolution of a values-based management approach. It is evident that managers have to balance different values, priorities and interests, and make trade-offs when they work in partnership on a multiple-use site so that conflicts can be resolved and whilst this may look straightforward on paper, in practice, it can be much more difficult for institutions and individuals to compromise their own professional or personal values. Despite its challenges, this article advocates a values-based, or pluralistic, management approach as the most effective means of managing multiple-use sites, resolving management conflicts and working in partnership to agreed outcomes.