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Caerphilly Castle “should be up there as a leading international heritage attraction,” according to the head of Cadw.

On Thursday, Cadw – the body responsible for Wales’ historic monuments – announced a £5m revamp plan for the 13th century castle.

The plans include the construction of a new visitors’ centre within the castle walls and a revamp of the Great Hall, while interactive imagery and handheld digital devices will be used across the castle to explain its history to visitors.

Speaking to Caerphilly Observer, Cadw boss Gwilym Hughes said: “At the moment, we’re getting something like 100,000 to 120,000 visitors a year. That’s far short of what I think it could be.

“Our castles up in North Wales, like Caernarfon and Conwy, get double that. Cardiff Castle gets triple that. Now that’s not right.

“This is one of the most magnificent castles anywhere in Western Europe. It should be up there as a leading international heritage attraction anywhere – and that’s our ambition.”

Mr Hughes continued: “I’d like to see those visitor numbers really increasing not just to the castle, but for the benefit of the whole of the community of Caerphilly.

“We want to see more people spending more dwell time in the shops and in the hospitality sector in the area around Caerphilly so that this becomes a must-go destination.”

Welsh Government’s Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport, Dawn Bowden, said: “Caerphilly Castle is the largest castle in Wales, but the visitor numbers here are not brilliant.

“What we want to do is see this really reinterpreted for visitors, not just to Wales but from within Wales as well, and make it a major tourist site for Wales and the whole of the UK.”

Ms Bowden, who is the Senedd Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, added: “That’s the main purpose, because tourism is going to play a huge part in post-Covid recovery.

“And so the investment here is about that future development of our economy.”

The investment was welcomed by Caerphilly’s Senedd Member Hefin David.

Dr David said: “The most important thing is that what is done in Caerphilly Castle ties in with what the council is doing for Caerphilly town, so we see an enhanced visitors attraction that includes the landscape and layout of Caerphilly town as well.

“I think Caerphilly Council can make very good progress on that in partnership with Cadw.”

Councillor Shayne Cook, who represents the Morgan Jones ward where the castle is located, said: “We are constantly lobbying for extra investment in the Caerphilly basin and this welcomed expenditure will benefit the local economy.”

What are the plans?

The plans come as part of the wider £8.1m Caerphilly Castle masterplan, which was announced by Cadw in 2019.

Mr Hughes said the focus was on creating a catering facility and educational spaces within the castle, as well as the visitor centre to “transform” the visitor experience “from just grey walls to something which is really dynamic, exciting and interactive”.

So far, resurfacing work has been completed inside the castle, with work to refurbish the Great Hall set to get underway.

Work is currently being carried out on an area of green space inside the castle walls, opposite the gift shop. This is where the new visitor centre is set to go.

Mr Hughes said: “What we’re doing at the moment is ground investigations of the area where the proposed visitor centre is going to be to ensure that we’re not impacting upon any archaeological evidence. So far, the excavations have proven negative, which as an archaeologist, I’m surprisingly saying thank goodness, because otherwise that would have really compromised our plans.

“But obviously, depending on the outcome of those investigations, we’ll then complete the final designs for the new visitor centre, which will then go for planning.”

He added: “We have to think really carefully about what we do to make sure that it doesn’t just meet the expectations of our visitors and local community, but also respects the historical integrity of the monument.”

Mr Hughes said the “main phase of physical works will probably take place during 2022, for an opening in early 2023”.