International Tourism Placemaking Award
The Pineapples – International Future Place 2023 Winner – Reimagined Boyne Valley, Counties Meath and Louth.
Repucon Consulting were part of the team led by The paul Hogart Partnership to win an international placmaking award for the The Reimagined Boyne Valley Drive. The project was initially deleiverd by Repucons Consultig in the Failte Ireland Ancient DEDP tourism destination development plan for Meath and Louth.
The project recently received the International Future Place award at the 2023 ‘The Pineapples’ Awards. The Pineapples awards are the only awards that celebrate the very best in placemaking, recognising excellence with an exciting programme and a commitment to recognising projects that make a positive social, environmental and economic impact. Launched in 2019, The Pineapples awards are unique in seeking to celebrate great places. They seek to promote place that thrive, where people want to live, work, play, shop or learn.
The reimagined Boyne Valley received its award in the ‘Future Place’ Category on the 24th of May in Brixton. The Future Place award seeks to recognise a masterplan, planning application, action plan or design proposal for a place, whether in development or theoretical. The judges look for a place that seeks to foster community, welcome visitors and attract tenants, contribute to urban life, and encourage people to dwell, live, work, connect, learn or play. They also look at whether the intervention will make a positive environmental and social impact. With 70 finalists, 125 speakers, 36 judges, 12 categories, 5 chairs and 400+ attendees, it was an exciting week.
The judges felt this project hit all of the criteria set out for this category, in particular in how it fosters communities and welcomes visitors. Through its broad scope and rural setting, it sets an interesting example for a project that creates a place not through master planning or building, but by valuing heritage assets, investing in local communities and helping reinforce the identity of an area. The judges are keen to see how these plans will be implemented and what the future holds for the Boyne Valley; for example, looking at the custodianship model and also the economic impact, not only focusing on increased tourism, but also on developing local communities, the retention of young people in the area and increased jobs opportunities and skills. The plan has reimagined the existing Boyne Valley Drive from currently being a point to point car based journey between some of Ireland’s most important and compelling heritage sites, to becoming a wider immersive visitor proposition that becomes a 5000 year journey through time.
