A senior councillor says there will be a "better pricing strategy" when Nottingham Castle reopens to attract families and young people. A plan that aims to reopen the historic site by June has been approved and work is now underway to recruit enough staff to run it.
The site had been run since 1878 by Nottingham City Council until 2018, when it closed for a £31 million transformation. Control was then handed over to the Nottingham Castle Trust in May 2019, with the venue reopening in the summer of 2021.
After just over a year of operation, with issues including an alleged racist incident and complaints over ticket prices, the Trust went into liquidation last November. Nottingham City Council has been working since then on a plan for the future of the site and has decided to run it itself again for now.
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But Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, the Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Planning at Nottingham City Council, says the ticket pricing structure at the Castle will be improved. Councillor Kotsonis, who has been chairing the board looking into Nottingham Castle's future, said: "We had to look at what the Trust had as an offer, we had to look at what went right and what went wrong with the model that they used and find a better way of delivering that.
"There will be a better pricing strategy, there will be better marketing as well so people are aware of the offers available, and we'll be looking at making the site available for families and young people in particular." Councillor Kotsonis was speaking after a meeting of the council's Executive Board on March 21 which officially backed the reopening plans.
The meeting heard that the cost of reopening the Castle is estimated to be £1.45 million over the next two financial years, compared to a cost of £1.19 million over the same period if the Castle remained closed. But the council says Nottingham Castle contributes between £12 million and £14 million to the wider economy.
As well as the full reopening date by June, Nottingham City Council has announced a series of events in the Castle grounds throughout May as part of an "early engagement" strategy to ensure good visitor numbers. One of these events will include a live screening of the Coronation of King Charles III, whilst several open days will also be held on dates yet to be confirmed.
Councillor Kotsonis acknowledged that there were "risks" in terms of being able to fully reopen by June, with staff recruitment being the major piece of work needed. Speaking about whether those made redundant by the Nottingham Castle Trust would be prioritised for the new jobs, Councillor Kotsonis said: "It's an open process so everybody can apply for those positions, but this is part of what it means to deliver social value as well.
"You recruit locally, you give jobs to people and definitely people who have been working for the Trust will be well placed in applications. They will have a lot of experience and understanding of the site and this is exactly what we need.
"I would encourage everybody who lost their jobs because of the insolvency of the Trust to apply for the positions that are coming up. They're not going to be exactly the same, but people should definitely fill the papers in."
Announcements are also due on a reopening date for The Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard and the future of the Nottingham Castle land train. The former has been undergoing a redevelopment, whilst the latter first launched last summer and ran from Brewhouse Yard, down by Ye Old Trip to Jerusalem and to the top of the castle.
In terms of the Castle, Nottingham City Council will be running it under the plans now approved whilst a longer-term option is developed. These future options could include the council continuing to run it, an external organisation taking it on again, or a combination of the two.
Depending on which option is eventually chosen, the longer term strategy could be implemented in the summer of either 2024 or 2025. But for the initial reopening of the grounds in May and the wider site itself in June, further announcements are due soon on dates for the open days and ticket prices.
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