Canterbury Castle may soon be open to the public once again as a stone-by-stone survey of the historic site gets underway.

City officials are preparing to reopen the medieval ruins on Gas Street, which are almost a thousand years old, having been closed to visitors since 2017 because of falling masonry.

As part of the Canterbury City Council’s levelling up project, survey work has now begun to evaluate the structural integrity of the landmark with the view to reopening it by summer 2025.

The city’s Heritage and Design Forum member Clive Bowley hopes to see the 11th-century keep used for open-air music and theatre performances.

The former architect said: “It’s a very welcome development that, at long last, there is a plan for repair work to begin.

“It’s an underrated attraction in Canterbury and I think the council does have a duty to stop bits falling off it - for years now all they’ve done is keep people out and that’s not what you want in a heritage city.

“They used to have open-air performances there in the 90s - Shakespeare, I think.

“It would be great to see it be used as an open-air venue in the summer.”

One of three royal castles in Kent, alongside Rochester and Dover, the site has had various purposes over the decades and passed through a number of hands.

After victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror marched to Canterbury, and the very first Norman castle in England was built at the site we now know as Dane John Gardens.

The distinctive mound in Dane John may be the motte from the original wooden castle - which itself was replaced by the present stone structure during the reign of Henry I.

The keep, which was about 80ft high, was the fifth largest in England.

It later became a county jail before being taken by the French without struggle in 1216, the castle was then left in ruins in 1609 having never seen a battle.

In 1770, work began to partially demolish the castle but this was halted in 1825 when it was sold to Canterbury Gas Light and Coke Company who removed all the internal walls and used it as a coke store.

Finally, the castle was acquired by the City Council in 1928 as is now maintained as a Grade I-listed heritage site.

Commenting on the local authority’s efforts to restore the site, cabinet member for heritage, Cllr Charlotte Cornell, said: “We are excited to be underway with this element of the levelling up project.

“It’s vital we understand exactly what condition the castle is in at the moment and can plan the improvement work accordingly.

“Throughout this we will be working closely with Historic England and tapping into their expert knowledge to make sure we get the very best results.”