Clifford’s Tower: Briefing notes for development

Download the draft Clifford’s Tower: An open brief for development

With the visitor building set within the mound now not set to proceed, English Heritage are keen to re-examine future possibilities for at Clifford’s Tower in collaboration with the wider community in York, as part of the wider Castle Gateway project.

On 23rd October a walk and discussion was held with a group of local people who had been involved in the Not in the Motte campaign against the proposed Clifford’s Tower visitors centre. A number of those present had been heavily involved in opposition to the now cancelled proposals, and it was seen as an essential first step to understand the views on the significance of the site which had driven this opposition to its change.

The discussions started with asking the group why they had originally got involved in the campaign in order to inform an understanding of the significance of Clifford’s Tower. We then moved to reflect on how Clifford’s Tower sits in the wider Castle Gateway area with a particular focus on what histories and stories can be told in the area and how this might intersect with the uses and development of the new public space in the Castle car park.

Drawing on the My Castle Gateway Open Brief and the specific discussions on 23rd October, we’ve developed draft briefing notes [download here] here and welcome further comments and reflections.  After we’ve recieved comments, we’ll draw up a final version of the notes.

Comment below or via email mycastlegateway@gmail.com by 19th November.

1 thought on “Clifford’s Tower: Briefing notes for development”

  1. Apologies for not being available for the discussion but I am pleased to see how productive the meeting was. I endorse the principles in the discussion document, particularly the joint working between English Heritage, YMT and the Council on the Gateway project: it limits any danger of piecemeal thinking in addressing the issues of access and communication which are outlined in the document. I think bringing the history of the area to life at the Tower would be good: what would someone standing there through the ages have witnessed at the Eye of York.

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