by Graham Tutthill

Dover Castle could only be open at weekends during the winter months, if proposals by English Heritage go ahead.

Consultations are taking place about the proposed changes, with up to 270 staff being affected.

The Mercury has been contacted on behalf of people working at the castle who fear for their jobs, and also say the closure could have a serious effect on tourism in the town between November and March.

“Last winter many thousands of people enjoyed their visits to the castle and a percentage of these people will also have been into the town itself and enjoyed the seafront and harbour, the parks and the shops, spending money which can only help the town’s reputation and economy,” said one person, who wished to remain anonymous.

“Children are frequent visitors to the castle but school excursions usually take place on weekdays, not weekends.

“Some 17,000 students, from overseas as well as from Britain, went to the castle between November and April last year. Are their visits and spending on souvenirs and food now to be confined to the crowded summer months?

“It simply does not make economic sense to withdraw weekday winter access to the castle, which is certainly Dover’s most important attraction as well as being the second most visited English Heritage site in the country.”

A spokesman for English Heritage stressed that these were only proposals and subject to consultation

He said: “English Heritage regularly reviews its opening hours to ensure we are responding to visitor demand and running our historic sites as efficiently as possible.

“Having looked at current visitor patterns, and bearing in mind the 32 per cent reduction to our government grant in future years, English Heritage is proposing to adjust our winter opening times from November 1 to March 31, with effect from November 2011.”

Full story in this week's Dover Mercury.