The news of Nottingham Castle's closure was confirmed on Monday after Nottingham Castle Trust announced it had begun the process of appointing liquidators.
Following the announcement, a former CEO of Nottingham Castle called for investigation into the castle's closure. Sara Blair-Manning, also confirmed she intends to pursue her claim for unfair dismissal against Trustees of the site.
Commenting on the closure, Ms Blair-Manning said: "Sadly, this does not surprise me. In July 2021 I raised concerns about the Board of Trustees’ poor standards of governance and lack of appropriate expertise and experience."
It is understood that Nottingham City Council's representative on the Board of Trustees resigned in October 2021. The former CEO added: "This raises questions about the apparent inaction of Nottingham City Council, as owner of Nottingham Castle.
"I hope Nottingham City Council will not duck their responsibility to establish an independent investigation of what went wrong."
Nottingham Castle reopened in June last year after a three-year £33million renovation. A statement on the Nottingham Castle website confirmed news of the trust going into liquidation. It read: "We are saddened to announce that Nottingham Castle Trust has begun the process of appointing liquidators and the castle grounds and exhibitions will remain closed to all visitors until further notice.
Read More: Bar in bid to expand - but police fear it could become nightclub
"We would like to thank all the castle's supporters, including the thousands of visitors that have been through our gates. Finally, a huge thank you to staff and volunteers who made Nottingham Castle such an amazing place to visit."
Following the comments from Ms Blair-Manning, a Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: "Sara Blair-Manning, the former Chief Executive of the Castle, is involved in an ongoing claim for unfair dismissal by the Trust. Therefore it would not be appropriate for the council to comment in detail at this time on the issues she has raised in regard to this matter.
“The Castle Trust is a completely independent organisation and, as such, the council has not been in a position to intervene directly in its day-to-day running. Following today’s announcement by the Trust, it’s important that we get clearer picture of the current situation before we review options for the future with other partners.
“Our priority is to work with the liquidator, once appointed, to provide support and advice to staff at the castle and to safeguard the site and its collections while it is not operational.” An earlier message from Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, Nottingham City Council’s portfolio holder for leisure, culture & planning, stated: “It is a matter of huge disappointment that Nottingham Castle Trust, which has been responsible for operating Nottingham Castle, has informed us that in light of its trading performance, it is in the process of appointing liquidators and closing the site, which it will be handing back to the council.
“This is clearly a significant blow for the city and its visitor economy. The council’s immediate priority is to work with the appointed liquidators to support those staff at the Castle who have been affected by this sad news, and to safeguard the site and its collections while it is not operational.
“We appreciate the significant efforts that the employees of the Trust have put into the site and understand how devastated they must be by this news. We will re-open the castle as soon as possible."
He continued: "Once we have a clearer picture from the liquidators, we will explore all available options together with our key partners The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England and others to develop a fresh business model. There is a real commitment from all parties to see this important cultural asset fulfil its full potential for the city and the wider region as a successful visitor attraction, playing a key part in our wider plans to bring investment, jobs, visitors and growth to Nottingham and its residents.”
The closure of Nottingham Castle came as a surprise for many residents in the city as well as tourists that have travelled across the UK to visit the historic site. The castle had only reopened in June 2021, after being closure for £33m renovation works across three years.
One family had travelled to England from the US for a two week holiday, and decided to save Nottingham and the castle for the last day of their holiday. Roxanne Weir, 56, said: "We were going to visit it for the last day of our trip, we’re from America.”
Harold, 63, added: we’ve been here for 14 days and we could have visited earlier if we knew. We’ve never been here before, this is our first trip to England.”
When asked what they will do for their final day now, he said: we’re trying to figure that out.” Harold explained that the family had ancestors in Nottingham and so "really wanted to visit the castle."
Mum, Wathsala Wijesingne, 51, of London, had planned to visit Nottingham Castle with her children, who are studying at the University of Nottingham. They had booked the tickets two weeks in advance, but arrived this morning to find that the gates were closed and the castle was shut until further notice.
Wathsala said: "It’s really disappointing. Before I came here to visit I told them I need to see this place so they booked tickets online.
"We came here and were not informed. They have never been either as they were waiting for me."
Her son, Nadithkk added: "They have already charged so I don’t know how we get our money back. It was around £60.”
Also visiting from London as part of their holiday to England was Bob Barney and Richard Weston, who were equally frustrated with the closure. Bob, 65, of Boston, USA, said: "We found out when we arrived and read the sign and then ran into a bunch of staff who said they only found out at 9am.
"It’s disappointing. We came from London as we have a railcard.”
Bob added: “it’s my first and last time probably” to Nottingham. Richard came about 50 years ago and was also disappointed to see the castle close."
Many other families and tourists arrived throughout the morning hoping to visit the castle, and were disheartened to find it closed.
Read Next:
