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The Prosser Perspective.... a weekly column from Dover and Deal MP Gwyn Prosser.

5 November 2009

On Monday, my old friend Kay Andrews visited Dover for a special viewing of Dover Castle’s Great Tower and to discuss our ambitious regeneration plans.

Kay hails from my native Wales and long before being elevated to Baroness Andrews she was policy adviser to Neil Kinnock and she served in his Private Office right up until the 1992 General Election. That’s a time I remember well – it was the general election at which I failed to gain the Dover & Deal seat by just 833 votes.

Kay has held various ministerial positions in recent years but in July she was appointed to Chair English Heritage and it was in that capacity that she accepted my invitation to Dover.

I was unable to attend the official opening of the newly enhanced Great Tower back in the summer but I saw all the excellent publicity it drew and I’m pleased to say that the real thing certainly lived up to all the TV images.

I’ve made lots of visits to the Castle over the three decades my family have lived in Dover and I’ve had the pleasure of showing off its attributes to dozens of friends and relatives. When I took them through the tower keep and we went from space to space, I sometimes sensed them thinking “another bare staircase, another empty room” – but not any more.

The major transformation that English Heritage have made to the interior of the keep has restored the splendour and majesty of Henry the second’s court in every detail and with great care. Every one of the cavernous spaces has been restored. They enjoy the warmth of open log fires and they contain portrayals of the furniture and wall hangings thought to be in fashion in 12 Century royal circles – and the end result is an enchanting and fascinating experience.

Most of the funding for this important project came to Dover via the Government’s Sea Change program which was set up as a direct result of hard lobbying by me and my colleagues on the Parliamentary Group of Labour MP’s representing coastal constituencies – and there’s more to come.

The Tower has already proved to be a great added attraction and visitor numbers have leapt up by more than 20%. That’s great news for English Heritage but it doesn’t do much for Dover because most visitors arrive at the Castle car park by coach or by car, make their visit and then depart without spending any time or money in the town. And it was to make progress on addressing this issue that I invited the Baroness to Dover for discussions.

The secret to unlocking Dover’s potential is connectivity. Connecting the soon-to-be redeveloped seafront to the town by land bridge and connecting the soon-to-be regenerated town to the Castle by a system of cable cars – which will become a compelling attraction in their own right.

Keeping the confidence and the cooperation of English Heritage is key to realising our proposals and if Monday’s meeting was anything to judge by – it’s all systems go.