One of the initial players on the team to gain World Heritage Site status for St. George's yesterday revealed that the application would be used as a model for future sites applying for the inscription.

The Bermuda National Trust's Andrew Bermingham said the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee was impressed by the application which was put together under tight deadlines.

"I can say that the management plan was so impressive that its going to be used as a model for future applications for World Heritage Sites,'' he told The Royal Gazette after it was announced that St. George's and its surrounding fortifications had earned the World Heritage Site inscription.

Mayor of St. George's Henry Hayward confirmed this.

He said: "The application we put in, I understand, made quite an impression on the UNESCO committee and in future years may be used as an example of how an application should proceed.'' Mr. Bermingham applauded the teamwork and ability of everyone involved in the application.

He said: "This effort illustrates how well Bermudians can come together to produce what can be described as a world class document by working together in harmony and for the betterment of the community at large. It is a proud day for us all.'' He praised the St. George's Foundation as the principal organisation behind the application and congratulated the group which produced the "excellent'' application and management plan under the very strict deadlines. Members of the initial nominating team alongside Mr. Bermingham included Bermuda National Trust director Amanda Outerbridge, Curator of Forts and Historical Sites Lance Furbert, the Department of Planning's Stephen Jackson and Bermuda Maritime Museum director Edward Harris.

The initial application was put together in the space of five weeks between May and June in 1999, noted Mr. Bermingham, and immediate feedback was positive.

"We were encouraged once we got the nomination in because they commented that it was a good one,'' he said.

But the group's work was not over, he continued, because UNESCO's World Heritage Committee wanted reassurance that the town and surrounding forts would be taken care of in the future.

"We found out in about October last year that we had to meet a technical deadline. They wanted a management plan ensuring that the accreditation would not fall apart once it was given. The management plan was extremely technical.

It was basically an insurance policy to ensure that once the accreditation was given, St. George's would follow through on its end.'' Mr. Bermingham said the management plan was orchestrated by Mr. Jackson -- who has since left Bermuda and could not be reached yesterday -- whom he "could not speak highly enough of''.

"He excelled and was ably supported in the production of the management plan by (the Planning Department's) Erica Smith who took over his work when he left the Island in July,'' he said.

Further support came from Premier Jennifer Smith and then-Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson, he added, along with the Department of Planning's Peter Adwick and Ms Outerbridge.