The Castle Garden Project, Malton

Derwent Riverside Project secretary Di Keal

The Derwent Riverside Project is a local community group set up with the aim of revitalising the riverside area throughout Malton and Norton. The group’s first project is to create a public park - the Castle Garden – on an area of land that stands behind the Old Lodge Hotel on Old Maltongate, Malton. This land currently belongs to Ryedale District Council. The site is a largely derelict and much neglected area that members feel is ideal for development into public parkland. There are very few ‘green spaces’ in Malton and Norton and the site has great potential as an amenity for both local people and visitors to the area.

The Castle Garden site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and has remains of Malton Castle, the Roman Fort and a Jacobean Prodigy house underneath. It was partially excavated by the BBC’s Time Team on its visit to Malton in 1996. Due to the importance of the remains, any work carried out on the site will require Scheduled Monument Consent issued by the Home Secretary under English Heritage guidance.

Regular meetings have been held with English Heritage, which is in agreement with our proposals to develop the garden and has funded a Conservation Study of the site that has to take place before creation of the park can begin because of its Scheduled Ancient Monument status. (Keevill Heritage Consultancy 2004/5) Ryedale District Council has agreed to lease the land to the Derwent Riverside Project Group on a long lease once the council has completed some essential repairs to the boundary walls. This work is due to commence shortly.

The Derwent Riverside Project has employed a garden designer to draw up outline plans for the site. Our designer, Trish Leach, has done a considerable amount of historic research into the background of the site and has based her design on these findings. The site has numerous mature deciduous trees, many of which are subject to preservation orders and there is a natural woodland walk along one side of the garden. A comprehensive tree survey has been carried out by John Clayton, Tree Officer for Ryedale District Council.

The Derwent Riverside Project’s aim is to use the existing features of the land to develop it into a natural parkland area, with seating, pathways, shrub borders and retaining the existing woodland walk. We are also working with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers who have been employed to clear vegetation and debris from the site.

The existing entrances to the park from Orchard Fields and Castlegate, need substantial restoration. The dilapidated gates from Orchard Fields into the site have recently been replaced with a temporary gate whilst work is carried out. This will eventually be replaced by a locally made, oak gate as a permanent entrance.

We would like to make the site as accessible as possible and intend to use the entrance off Orchard Fields as a disabled access to the garden. Although disabled access to all areas of the garden may prove difficult, we hope to make it as accessible as possible with special pathways suitable for wheelchairs. (‘hexapath’). Our eventual aim is to use the central open area of the park for open-air theatrical/concert performances and other outdoor events and income from such activities will be used for long term maintenance of the site. Once the group has developed the Castle Garden we believe that the population of Malton, Norton and Old Malton and the surrounding area will be provided with a much needed ‘green space’.

The creation of the garden will also help to boost the local economy, as it will attract visitors from further afield. English Heritage is also keen to promote the special historic interest of the site to the area. Signage explaining the historic features of the site will be installed in the later stages of creation works and, during a public consultation exercise, local schools expressed an interest in the educational use of the garden. Norton Youth Nature Watch (junior branch of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust) is also keen to be involved in the monitoring of wildlife/plants on the site.

We aim to create a useful and exciting park that will be used by the people of Ryedale and further a field for generations to come. The group has discussed the sustainability of the project and will look to establish a ‘Friends of the Castle Garden’ organisation to help maintain the garden in the future. Events that can be organised on the site – for example open air concerts and theatre performances will also help to generate income to maintain the site. Our plans have also taken the future into account in that they are quite simple in design, which will mean that maintenance will be minimal, with grass cutting the largest regular maintenance need. Large scale planting will not be a feature of the site as due to it’s Ancient Monument status we will be unable to undertake much ‘digging’.

Funding achieved so far

The project has just received a grant of £90,558 from the Yorventure Challenge Fund.

Additionally, it has already received funding from the following sources:

• The Market Towns Initiative
• The Countryside Agency
• Ryedale District Council React Fund
• Ryedale District Council Community Investment Fund
• English Heritage
• North Yorkshire County Council area members fund

 Help ‘in kind’ has been given by RDC (tree survey and wall survey work) and volunteers within the group and has been promised by Norton Nature Watch and Millennium Volunteers. We are also working with the British Conservation Volunteers who we have cleared vegetation etc. from the site.