As a member of the Working Group the Deputy will be aware that the OPW Castletown team have not been able to gain entry to their workplace in the normal manner since October 2023. This means that there is currently no staff caring for the grounds and no staff available to carry out the safety measures which are a basic requirement. As a result of a lack of OPW staff on site, the grounds are starting to deteriorate visually. The normal winter tasks such as tree and bulb planting as well as pollinator friendly interventions have not taken place. The lack of OPW personnel has also led to an increase of anti-social behaviour with reports of scramblers accessing the site and a significant increase of dogs being let off leashes.
Without OPW staff on site, the OPW can no longer guarantee the safety of visitors to the grounds of Castletown. Rather than closing the site entirely, the OPW took the decision to keep the site open on the basis of reduced hours which broadly coincide with hours that a skeleton team of staff are on site to safeguard the house and collection. Signage was erected around the site to publicise the reduced hours but also to underline the increased risks visitors could encounter on site. The decision to keep the site open was made to facilitate the community as much as possible.
The revised opening and closing times are prominently displayed on large signs at points of access and have been widely shared on social media. It is imperative that visitors using the parklands respect the hours of operation and vacate the park by the posted times as would the case on any other historic property or public park.
The procedure to lock gates at notified times is standard practice across all OPW sites, as well as the majority of local authority parks. This is important from the perspective of the Occupier’s Liability Act 2023. The OPW has a wider perspective and challenge in the management of not only Castletown, but other heritage properties across the State.
The OPW employs a security company to open and close the gates at the agreed times. They have been instructed to display flexibility and have often been on standby to allow members of the public to vacate the park.
