The development at the castle will be finished in 2005

A special viewing platform overlooking work on Oxford Castle has been constructed to allow people to watch progress at the site.

The castle, including the former prison, will become the site for a heritage centre and trail, a hotel and other attractions in 2005.

Archaeology work is currently under way and skeletons dating back to the 16th and 18th Century have already been discovered.

'Real fascination'

The work is being filmed by the BBC's "Meet the Ancestors" programme.

The County Council's Deputy Leader Margaret Godden said: "There is a real fascination with this development in Oxford.

"It will be pleasant for people to be able to view the gradual change from the site as it is now to what it will be when the scheme is completed in 2005.

"This viewing platform will provide them with the chance to do just that," he said.

The platform can be accessed via an entrance on New Road facing the Nuffield College Tower.

The scheme was recently granted �6m by the South East of England Development Association.