Fort Burgoyne is an 1860’s military site, built to defend the town of Dover from landward invasion. The fort - which includes an outpost known as the West Wing Battery - is classified as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It was occupied by the military until 2006 since when it has fallen in a state of disrepair. It is now under the management of The Land Trust.

 

Together with Pioneering Places, the Land Trust have initiated a 'Year of Engagement' intended to explore future uses of the site alongside a programme of stabalisation and conservation work. CHA and Dover Arts Development (DAD) were appointed to develop ideas for this future use strategy for the West Wing Battery and to run a public engagement programme.

 

Early 2019 saw the formation of ‘The Explorers’, a series of walks - each led by a local expert - that sought to uncover the history of the fort and develop a new relationship between it and the port of Dover. Each walk started from a unique location and took a different route but with each focusing on the West Wing as a final destination.

 

Throughout the walks, participants generated illustrations, thoughts and observations on the current state and future ambitions of the West Wing Battery. These ideas have been captured in a large-scale drawing that pulls together historical, descriptive and propositional information. The drawing is part record and part proposal. It captures a wide range of suggestions and ideas from the modest to the ambitious to the outlandish, and in the process celebrates the local communities aspirations for the site.

 

Following this process, the Land Trust will begin to implement proposals for the future use of the site.

 

For more information see the Dover Arts Development website:

 

http://www.dadonline.eu/projects/the-explorers-west-wing-battery-community-engagement-programme-at-fort-burgoyne/