Galway Bay fm newsroom - Galway City Council is backing plans for a major expansion of the City Museum and the development of a Cultural Tourism District around Spanish Arch.
At a meeting of the local authority last night, councillors voted in favour of amending the Budget for 2018 to allow for funding to develop the tourism project.The aim of the Museum Cultural Tourism Project is to grow overseas visitor numbers to 75 per cent of overall visitors by 2024.
The district, with its iconic viewing point at Spanish Arch will become a major orientation point on the Wild Atlantic Way.
The city museum, which doesn't charge a fee for entry, is the 37th most visited attraction in the country and the group behind its development want to improve that ranking to the top 15 by 2025.
Fáilte Ireland has previously granted approval for the project to move on to Stage 2 of the development process and will provide funding of 50 thousand euro to help cover costs.
A balance of 150 thousand euro is being provided by the council, which managed to secure the money by reviewing cash deposits with Bank of Ireland and redeeming some non-mortgage loans.
The council is at the stage where is it ready to award the contract for the architect-led design team and it's hoped a Part 8 planning application will come before the council by September.
Councillor Billy Cameron told the meeting that he supports the project because there is a lack of wet weather facilities for tourists in Galway.
It's hoped if approval is secured from Fáilte Ireland that work could begin in Spring next year with a completion date of late 2020.
Councillor Peter Keane said that it's in a very 'risky' stage at the moment as there is no guarantee that Fáilte Ireland will provide funding.
However, he said he appreciated the risk being outlined to councillors prior to making a decision, rather than afterwards, as has been the case with some projects in the past.
The refurbishment of Comerford House and two units in the city's ownership at Merchant's Road will also be included as part of the plans.
Councillors unanimously agreed to back the plans and adjust the council's Budget accordingly.
