Call for Nottingham Castle grounds to be reopened to public

The Nottingham Castle Trust said Covid-19 had "severely restricted" the number of overseas visitors

Nottingham's Castle's grounds should be reopened to the public at no charge, campaigners have said.

The flagship attraction closed abruptly in November when the trust running it collapsed into liquidation and staff were made redundant.

Now there are calls for Nottingham City Council, which owns the site, to allow people back into the grounds while its long-term future is worked out.

The city council has been contacted for a comment.

Council leader David Mellen said the council intends to reopen the castle - but he has not specified when

Council leader David Mellen has pledged the castle will reopen but has so far not said when that would be.

He said the city council, which has resumed control of the buildings and grounds and is working with the liquidators, needed to learn from the trust's "mistakes" to avoid repeating them.

Campaigners said they will meet outside the castle on Saturday and symbolically post their demand for access on the gates.

Tom Unterrainer, one of the campaigning residents, said he had been very disappointed when the castle closed but added: "We have been a bit concerned for a while that the people of Nottingham couldn't readily enjoy the castle grounds without paying for the price of a ticket.

"We think the city council needs, at the very least, to get those gates open as soon as possible [so the grounds can] be freely enjoyed by the people of our city and by visitors from elsewhere.

"We can see no good reason why the gates can't be opened and why that beautiful green space in the heart of our city can't be opened up.

"We will pin a demand that the gates are opened."

He said the campaigners would continue to lobby the city council for access.

A sign outside Nottingham Castle sets out the situation the trust finds itself in

Retired Nottingham library worker Chris Cook Cann said: "Clearly privatising the space and trying to run it for profit hasn't worked. Instead it seems to have lost the city millions of pounds.

"The council should open the gates and let the public back into this public space."

The liquidation of the Nottingham Castle Trust came 18 months after the site reopened following a £30m revamp intended to create a world class tourist attraction for the city.

However the trust said visitor numbers had been significantly below the 300,000 per year target stated upon reopening.

It said Covid-19 - and particularly restrictions on tourists travelling to the UK from abroad - as well as the cost of living crisis has deterred visitors.

Many people who did visit said they felt the entry fee was too high and that there was not enough to do at the castle without having to pay further charges for extra activities.

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