An historic fort built in the 1860s to protect Dover Castle has had its future secured thanks to an agreement between national land management charity, The Land Trust and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

Fort Burgoyne, originally known as Castle Hill Fort, was built in 1861 at a cost of £88,053, but was never called upon to defend Dover Castle and until now has never been accessible to the public. On taking ownership of the fort and the surrounding green space, The Land Trust will begin a discussion with local communities, including residents, local business and heritage groups, about how the site should be managed.

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Operations Director Matthew Bradbury said: "We're excited about taking on the ownership of this very special site and are keen to work with local people to ensure that we preserve the fantastic heritage of the fort and help people feel connected to and involved with its future.

"The Land Trust is a charity which exists to provide sustainable long-term solutions for land in order to benefit local people. Many of our sites across the country really contribute to bringing communities together to enable them to experience the benefits of outdoor spaces. That is our aim with Fort Burgoyne.

"We have lots of exciting ideas about how we will manage the fort, but we are very open-minded and are really looking forward to working with the local community and to hearing their thoughts. The most important thing is that the fort continues to be part of what makes Dover unique and special, and that the local people feel involved with managing the fort in a way that they haven't been able to before."

The HCA has transferred the ownership of 42 ha of land as well as a sum of money which will be invested and used to manage the site in perpetuity.

(CD/MH)