| Assessing stakeholders’ values and interests for Archaeological Park Matilo and Castellum Hoge Woerd, the Netherlands |
site serves as a multifunctional centre that attracts
a wider spectrum of people and enterprises, and is
therefore more likely to provide social and economic
means to the location.
The multifunctionality of both site parks is
particularly apparent in Utrecht, where cultural
and economic values are more emphasised than in
Leiden. Both parks provide cultural activities related
to music, dance, and theatre, but in the Castellum,
theatre Podium Hoge Woerd is committed to form
a full program of performances. In Leiden, there is
no long-term involvement of a similar commercial
with planning activities. The case studies indicate
that the involvement of commercial parties, like a
theatre and a restaurant, contributes to a sustainable
exploitation concept for an archaeological site,
Including the social values of the indirect
stakeholders turned out to be the most challenging in
both projects. The site parks provide a public space
where local people can meet, recreate, participate
in social gatherings, and feel attached to. However,
community interest groups would have wanted
the project management to focus more strongly on
other social values as well, like the transparency
in information provision and open attitudes in
communication strategies. It is the course of the
project development that they are not content with,
as they have the feeling they are not listened to, or
that there is a lack of mutual understanding about,
for example, the functions and design of the park.
Interestingly, the primary stakeholders were most
positive about the level of community engagement
they had achieved. In Leiden, the councillor
said they “had very close contact with the
neighbourhoods”. The councillor, however, noticed
that local people had different ambitions; while he
was very enthusiastic about the importance of the
for their children. And in Utrecht, where much effort
was put in ‘place-making’ and local engagement
prior to the project, the project manager noticed that
some people responded to the project plan in a way
like “great plan, but not in my backyard”.
What appeared to be successful in both projects
are small-scale co-production projects. The trust
of the project management in local organisations
to develop parts of the park, like the kitchen
gardens and artwork, stimulated