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There is an idyllic picture emerging here of cattle grazing peacefully over the Western Heights, keeping it trimmed and fertilised for the locals to enjoy the wild spaces and sea views. Meanwhile a dedicated band of volunteers would struggle on against the ravages of roots and the elements to try to keep an ever-declining section of the historic defences accessible. Eventually the moat walls will start to crumble and the grazing cattle will slowly help nature reduce them to softly contoured dips and mounds in a rolling landscape.
Such an outcome might well be desirable to some but what would it benefit Dover? As was noted by some signing the petition, there are not enough jobs for those who live here now, shops struggle to make enough to stay open and the visitor attractions we have barely manage to stay open. There are just not sufficient people in the town to maintain a variety of shops, leisure facilities and attractions, and the population continues to fall.
The Castle, which despite English Heritages protestations, continues to make a profit while swallowing up grant money for shiny new ticket offices as the Western Heights continues to decline. Repeated studies have shown that, despite being one of the most recognisable heritage sites in the country, Dover Castle is only seen as a 'day-trip' destination. Coaches arrive at the castle, disgorge their passengers who then "do the theme tunnels" and admire the views before re-embarking for home.
There are two things Dover needs to grow and prosper, visitors who stay in the town for more than an hour and spend money here and more residents spending in the shops on a regular basis. We need to grow the population by at least 16,000 and we need a Western Heights that is a visitor destination in its own right, to encourage people to make a weekend of it.
At the moment, the Western Heights, for all its unspoilt beauty, is a dark and lonely place at night and this encourages the worst. St Martin's Battery car park is popular with those who like impersonal sexual activity while the Drop Redoubt and its surrounds are a target for those who prefer vandalism, petty theft and property defacement as nighttime activities.
Put simply, Dover needs housing (with residents prepared to spend cash in the town), money ploughed into the Western Heights to preserve and improve the historical sites as a visitor destination and a full time presence on the heights to deter the detrimental proclivities of certain people. So housing, cash injection and a full time presence, where can we get that?
