Manning the parapets of Dales castle
Photo: English heritage

ACCESS to a Yorkshire Dales Castle appears to have been secured thanks to some positive concerted action in Richmond.

A number of groups including Richmondshire District Council and Richmond Town Council have worked alongside English Heritage to maximise access to the historic fortification in the town.

Budgetary concerns and finite resources had meant that Richmond’s castle might have had to close for two days a week during the summer season, while allowing for continued access during the winter season.

Instead, all involved agreed to work together to look at ways of increasing visitor numbers and overcoming the income shortfall that prompted the planned closure.

The agreement came after a meeting attended by English Heritage, the district and town councils and several other organisations.

Councillor Stuart Parsons, Richmondshire District Council’s member champion for culture and heritage, said: “This is fantastic news for the town and the whole district. The closure would have had a serious effect on tourism and businesses across Richmondshire.

“Everyone agreed that we needed to meet, and we all sat down with a common purpose and agreed a mutually beneficial way forward – a way forward that will involve much closer partnership working in the future.

“We all agreed on the need for the castle to stay open seven days a week in the summer. We will be meeting again shortly to discuss ideas and means of increasing visitor numbers to the castle.”

Michael Constantine, who has been attending the planning meetings on behalf of English Heritage, said: “We welcome the opportunity to work closely with our important partners in order to increase visitor numbers to the castle and surrounding town. There are many exciting ideas coming forward, and the increased focus on the Castle will be good for the town and the local tourism economy.”