Council 'confident' on Nottingham Castle visitor target

The castle has been used to host markets and cinema screenings this year

More than 136,000 visitors have been to Nottingham Castle since it reopened in the summer, the city council has said.

The authority took over the attraction when the trust running it fell into liquidation in November 2022.

The castle remained closed for more than six months before it reopened in June with an aim of attracting 200,000 visitors within 12 months.

The city council said it was "confident" it would achieve the target.

The council is running the castle site as part of its museums and galleries service

The historic venue hosted numerous events including screenings of the Eurovision Song Contest and a celebration of King Charles III's coronation before fully reopening to the public in June.

A "pay once, visit all year" ticket was made available to try to drive up numbers and since then, up to the end of November, 136,805 people have visited, the council said.

Pavlos Kotsonis, portfolio holder for leisure, culture and planning at the city council, said its annual target was "more realistic" than that of 300,000 visitors set by the failed trust.

He said: "We are really proud of the numbers of visitors going through the doors enjoying the castle offer.

"We had a very strong comeback and many people attended the November Christmas market at the castle which was sold out only a few days after the tickets became available for purchase.

"I am confident that we are on a good track to achieve our 200,000 visitors-a-year target.

"The castle is a great asset for our city, loved by many in Nottingham and further afield."

The council said the castle was part of a review of its museum services

The castle is being run as part of the council's museums service and the BBC asked Mr Kotsonis if it would be affected by the authority's decision to declare effective bankruptcy last month by issuing a section 114 notice.

He said: "The city is at the moment undertaking a delivery model assessment to assess what is the most effective arrangement in running our museums service.

"The challenging context faced by Nottingham is a reflection of problems faced by councils around the country.

"Whilst the situation in the council is currently challenging financially we will continue working hard to provide a robust museums offer, an offer with years of history."