iNTERNATIONAL delegate will descend on Saltaire when it hosts the first ever World Heritage UK Conference in October this year.

Experts from the 29 World Heritage sites in the UK and its overseas territories, including the island of Bermuda, will gather to discuss tourism opportunities provided by the status.

New bodyWorld Heritage UK has been created to undertake networking and promotion for the UK’s outstanding World Heritage Sites.

The delegates, joined by other representatives working in the World Heritage Site sector, will put the UNESCO World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme under the spotlight.

Themes will explore the impact large numbers of visitors have on the prestigious sites and the surrounding areas and how tourism income is used to develop and sustain world heritage sites.

Bradford Council’s Heritage Champion, Deputy Council Leader Councillor Val Slater, said: "This is a great honour for Saltaire and a ringing endorsement of Bradford Council’s stewardship of our own World Heritage Site.

"It shows how much regard the rest of the UK’s World Heritage Site professionals have for the way which we have been looking after Saltaire and how we continue to plan for its future.

"We hope all the delegates will enjoy the experience at the same time as sharing expertise and picking up ideas from each other to improve their performance."

Speakers from UNESCO, the UK Government and UK tourism organisations will speak at the two-day conference, along with representatives from Stonehenge, the Giant's Causeway, the City of Bath, the Jurassic Coast and Edinburgh.

Bradford Council’s Saltaire Heritage Officer Helen Thornton will also address the conference and organise tours of the village and the Salts Mill complex.

Bradford Council’s vision for the future of the Saltaire World Heritage Site has recently won an award for excellence.

The recently revised Saltaire Management Plan won the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Yorkshire Planning Excellence Award 2015.

There are more than 800 Listed buildings in the village which was created by industrialist and benefactor Titus Salt to house workers at his 19th century mill.

Built in 1851, Salt created functional stone houses for his workers, wash-houses, bath-houses and a hospital.

Significantly he catered for social needs with an institute for recreation and education, a library, concert hall, billiard room, science laboratory and a gymnasium.

It also had almshouses, allotments, and park and a boathouse.[

Rob Martin of the Saltaire Steering Group recently organised a successful Conversazione event in the village and said this was great news.

"It's great in many ways, in particular to get people in Bradford, including the sceptics, to realise Saltaire is a World Heritage Site that's really worth it and came through all the same criteria as all the others .

"Saltaire really is something to be proud of and part of the World Heritage thing is sharing information between all these amazing places," Mr Martin said.

"The village is looking really good and the Victoria Road improvements are coming along very well.

Also the new college building may be nearly finished by then," he said.