Date: 17 Oct 2024
Future Plans for the Old Courthouse in Letterkenny
Donegal County Council is inviting the public to hear more about the plans for the reuse of the old Courthouse in Letterkenny as an exciting tourist attraction by coming along to a drop-in Information Event on Thursday 24th October 2024.
The aim of the project is to reuse the historic Courthouse building as a major tourist attraction with the objective of increasing visitor numbers to Letterkenny’s historic town centre and to the wider Northwest region.
A previous drop-in event was held in January this year to hear the ideas of the public and stakeholders. Following on from that, 3 of the best ideas for what the visitor experience might be were brought forward for consumer testing to find out what future visitors from ROI, NI, GB, US, France & Germany think about the ideas. The consumer testing informed the identification of the preferred idea which is now being developed further to create an Interpretation Plan and a Business Plan.
To find out more about the project, the public and stakeholders are invited to come along to a drop-in Information Event on Thursday 24th October 2024 at the old Courthouse, Letterkenny, anytime between 3pm-8pm.The consultancy team led by EPIC Heritage Consulting Ltd and the Regeneration Team of Donegal County Council will be available to give more information on the stage in the project and next steps.
Cllr Gerry McMonagle, Mayor of Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District said, “The old Letterkenny Courthouse is in a fantastic location in the heart of the town centre and we are very excited about the potential it offers to create an amazing tourist attraction that will act as a Gateway to Discover Donegal. I am encouraging the public to come along to the old Courthouse on Thursday 24th October to hear more about the work that has been done to date to develop a great visitor experience for the town.’
Liam Ward, Director of Service, Community Development & Planning Services said, “I am pleased that the project has reached this milestone. The preferred visitor experience for the Courthouse is rooted in the people and place of Donegal and I look forward to the next stage in the project to dig deeper into the themes and stories to be told through an Interpretation Plan.” He added, “In tandem, the preparation of a Business Plan is critical to ensure the sustainability of the project in addition to understanding better the economic benefits that the project can bring to the wider region.”
The arrangements for the drop-in event are:
When: Thursday 24th October 2024,
anytime between 3pm-8pm
Where: The old Courthouse, Letterkenny via the entrance on Justice Walsh Road
The project is funded by the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) with match funding provided by Donegal County Council. It forms part of Councils wider Leitirceanainn 2040 Regeneration programme (www.letterkenny2040.ie)
