Plans submitted to reinstall jousting arena at Warwick Castle

The plans, which have been submitted by Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd, would see the jousting arena return to the castle for another two years.

In the planning documents it says that the jousting arena - which is located on River Island - and the ‘War of the Roses’ show was first introduced at the castle in May 2017.

After the show's success the castle team applied to install the arena seasonally for five years and permission was granted in April 2019 for a year.

Now the castle team have applied for planning permission so that the arena could be reinstalled for two years.

In the planning documents it says that the arena would be used for six weeks in the summer.

It also states that the team at Warwick Castle did surveys in May 2019 on the “Wars of the Roses” show asking “what was your main reason for visiting”. They found that majority of respondents (62 per cent), indicated ‘War of the Roses’ Live.

The team said that this compares to 30 per cent in response to the same question in 2017. From the survey date the castle the, have worked out how many visitors the show has brought to the castle.

In the documents it said: "Assuming that on average 40 per cent of the guests that have visited the Castle over the last three years during the May half term and summer holiday periods had the War of the Roses show as the main reason for their visit, this would equate to over 270,000 guests since 2017, an average of over 90,000 per year.

"This in ticket revenue alone is worth over £3 million to the castle, as well as all secondary and short break revenue that would be associated with these visits.

"As 40 per cent of guests also visit Warwick town, Wars of the Roses Live has specifically driven over 100,000 people to visit the town centre."

"The show itself is incredibly popular, and the arena is also used for act one of Dragon Slayer, where in act two we complete the Guy of Warwick story through projection mapping onto the walls and buildings of the Castle in the courtyard.

"These are powerful shows whose appeal now brings more visitors to Warwick from both the UK and internationally.

"They both play a really important part in us bringing Warwick Castle’s history to life in a truly engaging and enjoyable way."

To view the plans go to Warwick District Council's planning portal and search: W/19/2148