Nottingham Castle: City council doubts it will get back loans

The relaunched castle faced some lukewarm reviews and criticism over its pricing

Money loaned to the failed Nottingham Castle Trust is unlikely to be repaid, the city council has said.

On Monday the castle closed when the trust said it was going into liquidation after visitor numbers were "significantly below" targets.

The move came just 18 months after a £30m relaunch.

Council leader David Mellen promised the castle would reopen but he said he doubted any of the authority's £2.68m of recent loans would be paid back.

Visitors and traders were taken by surprise by signs posted outside the castle and online

The revamp had been backed with a £13.9m lottery grant, £7m from the D2N2 enterprise group and £8.9m from the city council.

Organisers had promised a "world class" attraction following the three-year refurbishment and predicted up to 400,000 visitors a year.

But it faced a number of lukewarm reviews and complaints over cost - a family ticket to all areas was more than £50.

On Monday visitors and traders were taken by surprise when the doors did not open and notices said the castle was closed until further notice.

Mr Mellen said he was "saddened" by the news and appreciated the impact on the city but emphasised the castle and contents were not at risk.

The castle and contents of its galleries are owned by the council, not the trust

He said: "It is the trust that has gone into insolvency, not the actual building, so it does revert to us.

"Part of insolvency is [debts] fall away which is not good for people who are owned money by the trust - not least the city council.

"We have loaned the castle money and we doubt we'll get that money back."

The council said these loans were separate to the initial investment and, along with other debts for services, totalled £2.68m.

He defended the use of a charitable trust as he said it was the best way to secure funding - but admitted mistakes were made, especially around the pricing.

"The trustees were not paid, they were volunteers, they were a group of people who cared about Nottingham.

"And maybe they didn't take all the advice they were given, maybe they made some mistakes.

"And in the situation we find ourselves post Covid and with a cost of living crisis, all these things combined in a very unfortunate way.

"Clearly questions need to be asked and we need to work out what has gone wrong.

"So when we do open it again we can open it in a way which doesn't lead to this result," he said.

Christmas market

The council is facing a budget shortfall of £28m on top of long-term financial woes which have led to it being monitored by a government-appointed improvement board.

But Mr Mellen said the authority had experience of running other heritage sites like Newstead Abbey and had made a "small profit" when it was previously in charge of the castle.

He said: "It is too important to the people of Nottingham to allow it to remain closed for any longer than it has to.

"It's far too good to let go and we won't let it go."

A Christmas market, due to be held at the castle this weekend, has been moved to Sneinton Market, on the other side of the city centre.