Galway City Tribune – Galway City Council is preparing the next phase of plans for the development of a €6.5 million cultural tourism hub at Spanish Arch.
The plan is to make the area a “lynchpin” for visitors along the Wild Atlantic Way, expanding the City Museum and doubling visitor numbers.
If funding is approved and planning granted, the project could be completed in the middle of 2020 – it will incorporate Comerford House (the former museum) and two houses which the Council owns on Merchants’ Road.
Council Chief Executive Brendan McGrath said: “The aim of this ambitious project is to greatly enhance the high-quality offering of Galway City’s Council’s Museum, which would in turn become the lynchpin of a major cultural tourism attraction and significant destination for visitors along the Wild Atlantic Way.”
The project will require funding of around €6.5m, around €5m of which the local authority hopes will be granted by Fáilte Ireland. Last June, Fáilte Ireland granted Stage 1 approval for a funding application, and allowed them to proceed to Stage 2, which involves progressing the design, as well as costings.
Councillors were told this week that to progress the Council’s funding application next Autumn, around €200,000 would be required to procure specialists in the areas of ‘Visitor Experience and Engagement’, ‘Interpretation/Exhibition Design’, ‘Economic Impact and Projections’ and ‘Marketing and Tourism’.
“The response from Fáilte Ireland to the project overall has been extremely positive and encouraging,” said Mr McGrath, adding that the body had given a €50,000 contribution to Stage 2.
He said a loan was redeemed in December which would result in a saving of €176,000 in the Council’s budget for this year, and asked councillors to approve a revision to the budget, which would allow this money to be used for Stage 2.
The proposal was approved by councillors.
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