Just Imagine…All the Stories

Ideas for the Beyond the Castle area – Castle Park, Vicarage Fields and Quayside Meadows – are to be gathered at two co-design sessions in September.

The ‘Beyond the Castle’ project wants to make a quality public space from the area around Lancaster’s historic castle and Priory. Everyone is invited to imagine and design the possibilities.

Two sessions have been planned to explore the space and develop new ideas.

Just Imagine…All the Stories: Saturday 8th September from 12.00-3.30pm

The Beyond the Castle site has lots of histories, having been occupied since Roman times. Come and help to create stories about its future, and how the area might be improved for everyone.

For All the Stories, you’re invited to drop by, for as little as 15 minutes, to unleash your imagination and think about the park as it was in history, and how it might be in years to come. We’ll be walking around Castle Park, Vicarage Fields and Quay Meadows, sharing stories and ideas. Volunteers and the design team will help record stories – old and new – about the area, its history and its future.

Just Imagine…The Shape of the Park: Saturday 22nd September from 2 – 4.30pm, or 6 – 8pm

What makes the park Beyond the Castle special? At this session we’ll be looking at the landscape, history and accessibility of the park. How can we bring its features to life in ways that fit the needs of Lancaster people and those who visit it?

The sessions will build on ideas gathered from shoppers in Lancaster’s Market Street in August, when project members spoke to hundreds of local people about the project – as illustrated by the blog ‘wordlet’ which visualises ideas from the first event.

We’ve had some really fun ideas from local people so far – including a wildflower meadow, a treehouse, a castle built entirely of plastic bricks!

The project isn’t consultation – it’s co-design. We’re working with lots of people and their ideas, and designing ‘Beyond the Castle’ together. We really hope that people will come along and get involved. This is an opportunity to help shape and form the space Beyond the Castle – so come and wander with us as we develop ideas for its future.

Map of the meeting point on the green outside The Priory PDF [3MB]

Beyond the Castle event flyer PDF [0.3MB]