LIVERPOOL’S World Heritage status was declared officially “at risk” by Unesco.

The decision was formally made at a meeting of the cultural agency in Russia last night.

The special status given to the city in 2004 is in jeopardy, due to the proposed construction of Peel’s Liverpool Waters project.

The planned £5.5bn skyscraper scheme to regenerate the city’s northern docklands was given planning permission by Liverpool council in March but is seen by Unesco as a threat to Liverpool’s historic waterfront.

At the meeting in St Petersburg, Unesco’s World Heritage committee placed Liverpool “Maritime Mercantile City” on the list of endangered sites.

A Unesco spokesperson said: “The committee contended that the development will extend the city centre significantly and alter the profile of the site inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004.

“Furthermore, experts argued that the redevelopment scheme will fragment and isolate the different dock areas visually.

“The Committee warned that if the project is implemented, Liverpool may entirely lose the outstanding universal value for which it was given World Heritage status. The site includes six areas in the historic centre and docklands, a testimony to the development of Liverpool as one of the world’s major trading centres in the 18th and 19th centuries.”