Positive update on plans for new outdoor performance and amenity area in Kilkenny

Plans to construct Kilkenny City’s newest outdoor performance and amenity area look set to proceed to the next stage.

The development follows a positive period of public consultation and a positive reaction from both the public and local councillors to the proposed plans.

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The plans for the proposed Watergate Outdoor Performance Area and Urban Park feature a large outdoor stage, reconfigurable furniture and an outdoor overhead canopy.

Only one submission was made to the council when plans for the Park went out to public consultation.

The submission was made by the National Council for the Blind but their suggestion has since been worked into the scheme.

The outdoor performance area is set to be located adjacent to the Watergate Theatre on Parliament Street, where a public seating area is currently situated.

It will form part of an overall urban park area that will extend back to Horse Barrack Lane and into the newly-developed Abbey Quarter.

The urban park will form a set of flexible spaces that can be configured according to event users or day-to-day use, facilitated by a combination of fixed and loose furniture.

A clear route through the space will be retained during regular use and the route can be differentiated by changing seating patterns on the remaining hard surfaces of the park.

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There are four potential event configurations where outdoor seating can be adapted to suit.

These events will make use of either the proscenium stage, a thrust stage, a cinema screen or a container/truck stage on Horse Barrack Lane.

Proscenium stages have an architectural frame, known as the proscenium arch, meaning the stage is gently sloped rising away from the audience.

The wall will be realigned and the space will be reserved for access by specific users, who must reserve access through a booking system.

The proscenium arch will be an aperture in the newly constructed wall through which the stage becomes visible when a shutter is removed.

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Lighting fixtures will be integrated into stage and lighting to stage will be at a 45 degree angle to stage centre. 

Reconfigurable bench seating allows space for seating wheelchair users near friends.

Furniture will be selected and designed to enhance the association with the site’s history as a timber yard.

Watergate Urban Park will adopt an urban wildlife planting scheme designed to support pollinators.

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