Client: Breathe Barbury CIC

Barbury Castle was the site of a battle where Cynric defeated the Britons in 556AD. The site also comprises adjacent round barrows, Celtic field systems and 18th-19th Century flint workings/mines.

On behalf of Breathe Barbury CIC, we evaluated the feasibility of creating a purpose-built café and visitor centre facility that would raise the profile of Barbury Castle, an Iron Age Fort, and North Wessex AONB and make visitors feel part of the characteristic geography, history and natural environment of the area.

The proposed project aims to create an outdoor pursuits & education “hub” that would significantly enhance the experiences of existing visitors and attract new ones to the park, which incorporates an Iron Age Hill Fort. The intention is for Breathe Barbury to operate as a social enterprise so that it is operated by local people and volunteers for the benefit of the wider community.

The scope of the work included validation of user groups and interested parties as well as identification of new user groups that could be attracted to the site and what supporting facilities would need to be established to support them. We also considered potential funding source for both capital investment. We also provided an assessment of the business viability and sustainability leading to the development of the business plan. As part of this we also set out future visitor numbers and management options for the project. Part of our work we identified of potential models for partnership opportunities with site owners Swindon Borough Council. Find out more about Barbury Castle.

Have a look at some of the other castle and fort projects we have worked on.

Contact us
If you have any questions or would like to discuss our work please don’t hesitate to call Richard Linington on 023 9248 1999 or email richard@pslplan.co.uk