Published on : Wednesday, May 9, 2018
200 years ago, the town was the world’s largest iron making centre.
A report for Design Commission for Wales believes that Merthyr can learn from the success of Titanic Belfast and the Eden project in Cornwall.
Although the project is at an early stage, 60 architects, planners and heritage experts have already discussed ideas. A centre-piece would be regenerating Cyfarthfa Castle, built for the Crawshay family, who were the ironmasters in the 19th Century.
About 60,000 people visit the castle every year but a more refined and developed centre might be able to attract three to five times that number, according to the report.
Titanic Belfast, which opened in 2012 to coincide with the centenary of the ship’s sinking, had 771,038 visitors last year and Eden Project in Cornwall had more than a million visitors.
The report urges a visitor experience “of a scale and quality that would mark it out as a major national landmark, with international appeal”.
It would include “dramatic” CGI reconstructions and displays, telling the story of iron-making, difficult economic conditions and significant events such as the Merthyr Rising of 1831.
The report proposes a new and distinctive building for substituting the old school buildings behind the castle, for displays and exhibitions.
In 2010, the town tried to become a world heritage site, but did not receive any success on that.
Heritage tourism is estimated at being worth £963m to the Welsh economy each year, supporting more than 40,000 jobs.
The people behind this argue with the right investment, Merthyr can raise its profile in Welsh tourism and not just be a place where heavy industry is in the past and forgotten.