Strong turnout for Barnard Castle’s gateway vision

The heritage bug hit Barnard Castle this week, with a big turnout to view plans for a proposed new gateway to the town’s medieval castle.

As the Mercury reported last week, the old NatWest Bank could be reopened as an entrance and education centre, bringing a route from the castle right into the heart of the Market Place.

And, from the moment the doors opened on Wednesday afternoon’s consultation session, there was a rush of people eager to find out more about the proposals.

The plan is a joint vision between Durham County Council and Raby Estates, where CEO Duncan Peake explained that feedback was crucial to progress.

“We’ve been open about ten minutes and already there are lots of people coming to look at the plans and look at the building,” he said on Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s very conceptual at this stage.

“Before we develop any further, we really want to have some community feedback.

“I know we’re only a few minutes in but so far it appears to be very positive.

“People are supportive of what we’re trying to do.”

Some residents were concerned that the new interpretation and education facilities might affect the castle ruins themselves.

However, Mr Peake pointed out that opening up a new entrance to the castle allowed the development to exploit something of a blank canvas in the disused bank.

“The plans don’t interfere with the historic site at all,” he added.

“They would bring the whole castle precinct under one management and open it all up to visitors – particularly from the local community – in a way we haven’t hitherto been able to.”

Many visitors liked what they saw.

Kim Harding, who chairs the Northern Dales Richard III Society, was excited by the potential of the scheme.

“This is a fantastic way for the town to show off to itself and to visitors,” she said.

“It’s possible that we could develop some of the spaces in here as a town museum, and the upper rooms could be used to train people who could then work on the castle site.

“There’s immense potential.”

As an enthusiastic student of Barney’s history, she’s also excited about opening up more of the castle to archaeologists.

“We’ve been able to see it for a long time, but a lot of the castle site has not been accessible before,” Kim added.

“It’s very exciting to open that up and have it explored properly by archaeologists and people with heritage awareness of what might be there and how it might be developed.”

There were dissenting voices, with one visitor to the drop-in session insisting that the plans were “a waste of money” and offered nothing

But others saw great potential in bringing a disused building back to life.

“Bringing an existing building back into use is really important,” said Jayne Bradley.

“it puts another spotlight on the castle and its heritage.

“That’s really important for us, we shouldn’t underestimate it because it informs the future as well.”

And town cryer Ian Kirkbride, who was on hand to drum up attention for the display, agreed.

“This building has stood empty for so long that’s becoming an embarrassment,” he said.

“These plans have to be a good thing and I hope all the parties working together can make it happen.

“It could be a real focal point for the town, especially if it can also be combined with a tourist information centre to allow people to explore the town, and particularly the castle, from a much more convenient access point.”