The case study delivered through the commission has proved invaluable to the council’s project team in developing a project framework for the castle scheme. The town deal timetable is tight, particularly for the castle project which was only at concept stage when the town deal was agreed. The scheduled ancient monument nature of the site means that a huge amount of preparatory work is needed to get the necessary permissions. The case study allowed the council to do a lot of work in a short period of time, validating a number of the assumptions that had been made but also identifying areas that they had not previously considered in detail. The latter included the need to provide and mark an alternative route to the castle in case of lift breakdown, or at times of congestion; the need to carefully consider pricing as currently school groups appear to avoid the lift because of its cost; and to explore other options for providing an all-weather visitor facility within the castle grounds.
The case study also identified a number of projects that had similarities with the Hastings Castle scheme and showed how these had been developed/enhanced to improve the visitor offer. These included recognised best practice examples in heritage attractions and destinations, including Scarborough Castle, Old Sarum Castle, Corfe Castle, Caerphilly Castle, Dover Castle, and Warwick Castle. These showed:
- an ambitious conservation plan is vital to ensure that the site is protected for the future whilst unlocking the heritage assets to secure maximum visitor impact
- the importance of the narrative of the site to be carefully researched and written
- the need to make the interpretation consistent with the spirit of the place
- the importance of developing a visitor proposition based on it
- the need to remember to put visitors first
- remembering that families will always be the most important visitor segment
- the value of regular events; the need for excellent catering and retailing
- the importance of building support from the local community
- the need for brilliant and sustained marketing
- the need to set challenging but achievable targets.
The primary research carried out is extremely useful, as it confirms that there is strong support for improving the offer at the castle, including modern interpretation techniques such as augmented reality. The stakeholder consultation also validated the council’s wish to provide covered facilities within the castle if allowed.
The education assessment demonstrated the importance of this area. Hastings Borough Council has close links with a local charity, the Education Futures Trust, and following a presentation on the project, links have been made to a local academy who are keen to work with the council as the project is developed, to ensure that the education potential is maximised. These links, and this work, will be developed as the project progresses.
The facilitated meeting with Historic England was critical in understanding the process required to obtain the necessary permissions, notably Scheduled Monument Consent. This has led to a re-ordering of the project plan and engaging additional support to help the council with the Statement of Significance for the castle.