Liverpool has been stripped of its World Heritage status after a UN committee found developments threatened the value of the city’s waterfront.

The decision was made following a secret ballot by the Unesco committee at a meeting in China.

Unesco had said that the developments, including the planned new Everton FC stadium, had resulted in a “serious deterioration” of the historic site.

The decision was described as “incomprehensible” by the city’s mayor.

“Our World Heritage site has never been in better condition having benefitted from hundreds of millions of pounds of investment across dozens of listed buildings and the public realm,” Joanne Anderson said.

She said she would work with the government to examine whether the city could appeal against the decision, which comes “a decade after Unesco last visited the city to see it with their own eyes”.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said the decision was “a retrograde step that does not reflect the reality of what is happening on the ground”.

“Places like Liverpool should not be faced with the binary choice between maintaining heritage status or regenerating left-behind communities and the wealth of jobs and opportunities that come with it,” he said.

Labour’s Kim Johnson, MP for Liverpool Riverside, said she remained “proud of my city and what we’ve done”.

“People come here because it’s amazing city and, while I’m disappointed, as a city we are resilient and we will always fight back.”