Appointment of Design Consultants KJC (PM/ER and PSDP

Description

King John’s Castle is Limerick’s main tourist attraction and attracts circa 40,000 visitors per annum. Visitor numbers are down from a high of 51,000 in 2000. The product is made up of visitor exhibits in the main visitor centre, archaeology under the visitor centre, the courtyard and the turrets. Since the Castle opened in 1991, significant funds have been invested in trying to turn the castle and associated elements into a ‘must see’ attraction. However the product is generally considered to be delivering a poor experience. Part of the attraction includes The Castle Lane Complex, which includes a bar and banqueting area, but this has traded unsuccessfully over the years.The current visitor experience at the Castle is limited, expensive and in need of reinvestment and updating. The Castle and its associated buildings should be the centrepiece of Limerick’s tourism and should have a much higher visitor throughput.Shannon Development and Shannon Heritage are approved for grant funding from Fáilte Ireland to develop and improve the King John’s Castle tourism product. The overall aim is to enhance the visitor experience at the castle and create a gateway to the Limerick City and Shannon Region tourism experience within the context of improved exhibition, interpretation and visitor facilities. The redeveloped Castle and Castle Lane will become a must visit tourism product appealing to a broad spectrum of visitor age groups and market segments.The complete re-working of the visitor interpretation within the Visitor centre will provide a better and more interesting visitor experience capable of attracting increased visitor numbers. The proposed works will create a stimulating, imaginative and engaging introduction, interpretation and presentation of the site and its story (to include a series of live animations), highlighting the significance of the site in the regional, national and international context.Shannon Development strategy is to appoint a full design team