Doors closed at historic Fife castle to protect it from anti-social behaviour
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has taken the decision to close Ravenscraig Castle in Kirkcaldy from Thursday until next Monday in a bid to protect the 15th century building across Bonfire Weekend.
The action comes after “multiple” acts of vandalism at the ruined historic landmark.These include damage to fencing and panels on site, as well as wallhead stones thrown from castle’s East Tower, plus numerous reports of vandalism, fire raising, and antisocial behaviour over the past 12 months.
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Hide AdDr David Mitchell, head of conservation at HES, said: “We’ve been very disappointed at the ongoing issues of antisocial behaviour and criminal damage at Ravenscraig Castle, and, regrettably, feel that closing access to the site in advance of Bonfire Night is necessary to prevent further damage.
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“Heritage crime such as this can cause irreparable damage to our precious historic sites, divert important resources from other essential conservation and maintenance work, and cause us to lose pieces of our past forever.
“The historic environment belongs to all of us, and we recognise the need to work closely with the local community to raise awareness of the serious impacts of heritage crime and how we can work together to tackle it.
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Hide Ad“We would encourage anyone who witnesses any such incident to contact Police Scotland.”
Members of the public can report incidents to Police Scotland by calling 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 and online at crimestoppers-uk.org.