An historic castle will be opened up for a series of workshops which will give an insight into the proposed Otterpool Park development.

They will be held at Westenhanger Castle, which is destined to become the 'jewel' of the planned 10,000 home 'garden town', which will be built on land near and surrounding the former Folkestone racecourse.

As well as thousands of homes, the development will boast new schools, health centres, open spaces, restaurants and shops, and will have its own town centre, if approved.

The project is being led by Folkestone and Hythe District Council, which has set up a new company, Otterpool Park LLP, to 'drive' the scheme forward.

It is now hosting family-friendly workshops at the castle over the coming months as part of a community outreach project to encourage learning about the history and heritage of the Otterpool Park site.

The free events, called Telling the Otterpool Tale, will be run by Strange Cargo, a participatory arts organisation.

Open to people of all ages, attendees will be able to learn more about the history of the Otterpool Park site, including the racecourse, castle and Roman Villa.

There will be opportunities to make a heritage-inspired craft activity to take home, such as a winner’s rosette, a medal or a Tudor headdress, and the whole family can join in to imagine themselves as a jockey, station porter, Fair Rosamund or a Roman soldier at a heritage selfie wall.

Andy Jarrett from Otterpool Park LLP said: "Celebrating and protecting the site’s heritage is a really important part of what we are all about, and we want to provide opportunities for people to access and be part of that history.

"We are inviting people to come and learn more about the people, happenings and rich story of the site, and have a bit of fun creating their own piece of art to take home."

Brigitte Orasinski from Strange Cargo, added: “Strange Cargo is really delighted to be working at Otterpool to share some of the intriguing and little-known history of the site.

"Our artist team is looking forward to meeting lots of local people at the workshops."

The first workshop will take place at Westenhanger Castle on Thursday, June 3 from 11am- 3pm.

In July, three further events will also be held; at Sellindge Village Hall on July 3 from 12pm-4pm, at Lympne Village Hall on July 10 from 11am-3pm and back at Westenhanger Castle on July 17 from 11am-3pm.

All the events have been planned to be Covid-safe, and as such some queuing may be required during busy periods.

Attendees are asked to bring a face mask, unless they have a medical exemption or are under the age of 11.

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