Nottingham Castle finally lowered its drawbridge in June 2021 after three years of pain-staking work and despite the coronavirus pandemic. It had an ambitious goal: To become a "world-class" heritage site, rivalling York and Warwick as a result. In reality, however, the grand reopening has been marred by a spate of staff resignations and investigations. So what, then, lies ahead? Agenda Editor Joseph Locker reports.
The whole of Nottingham, including Nottinghamshire Live, wanted the castle regeneration project to be an immense success.
Atop Castle Rock the ducal palace sits as a bewitching spectacle of the city's magnificent - and somewhat tumultuous - past.
And, in a bid to make this remarkable site a "national attraction", the grounds and palace were shut off from the world from July 1 in 2018.
They remained closed for three years as £30m was invested in a significant renovation and regeneration project.
The very same year Nottingham City Council signalled the go-ahead for shopping centre giant, intu, to press ahead with its plans for the Broadmarsh Centre.
Arguably, then, 2018 was a year embellished with hope and zeal to help the city stand shoulder-to-shoulder with its rivals.
It wasn't quite to be.
'When complete the castle will have 400,000 visits a year'
The original castle working party was set up in 2011, years before the site was closed to the public.
Later, the Nottingham Castle Trust was established alongside a board of directors who would manage the project and the team tasked with bringing its vision to life.
Upon the site's closure in 2018 the board said it expected the castle would attract more than 400,000 visitors a year, double what it had achieved in the past.
"When complete the castle will have 400,000 visits a year," said the chairman of the board, Ted Cantle, in 2018.
Nottingham Castle reopened after three years on June 21 last year and within the first six months the trust says 100,000 people purchased tickets and visited the attraction.
It described the milestone as "impressive", but it does indeed leave it a far way off the 400,000 visitors it had hoped to attract.
'If you ask people internationally to name the top castles, Nottingham would be in there'
More than £30m was spent during the three-year regeneration project, with £8m loaned from the city council and just over £13m awarded from the heritage lottery fund.
Such significant investment generally shines through, to the credit of the board and the team behind the project, particularly in considering the feat was achieved during a global pandemic.
But it is difficult to avoid reflecting on the words of councillor Dave Trimble, then-portfolio holder for leisure and localities who represents Lenton and Wollaton East on the city council. He said in 2018: "If you ask people internationally to name the top castles, Nottingham would be in there."
It was relentlessly touted the site would become a "world-class" heritage destination, rivalling the glorious cities of York and Warwick.
Within the space of just a few months the trust revealed it would be reviewing its visitor experience, following criticism over pricing in particular, and a raft of negative Trip Advisor reviews.
The board said at the time it "understands the strong feeling of local people regarding the ticket structure".
General admission was £13, with the Robin Hood Adventures included for free and the caves an extra £5. Family admission started from £22.50.
Warwick Castle, comparatively, is £29 (or £18 if booked in advance).
The very name of the site, 'Nottingham Castle', was also brought into question.
This is because only remnants of a castle remain through the gatehouse, towers, ditches and caves. Despite various incarnations existing throughout history, the main structure that sits atop Castle Rock today is indeed a palace.
While quite obviously stunning in its own right, many argued a more 'realistic' name should perhaps be adopted.
No confidence
In 2011 the chairman of the board, Mr Cantle, said "the first job was to come up with a scheme that could unite people".
The project, however, has arguably left both staff and visitors divided.
And the cracks started to become ever-more apparent upon the departure of former chief executive Sara Blair-Manning in August last year.
Ms Blair-Manning had been at the helm since 2019 and guided her team through the years that followed until opening.
The seriousness of the situation came to a head when it was revealed Ms Blair-Manning would be taking the Nottingham Castle Trust to an employment tribunal, arguing she was unfairly dismissed from her job.
An initial interim relief hearing, which would have allowed her to stay in her role and receive pay, heard Ms Blair-Manning make a number of "bullying and harassment" claims.
While the interim relief application was dismissed it was said "it is likely that a Tribunal determining this issue will find that there was a desire by the majority of the Trustees to dismiss the claimant without first investigating her complaints and the documents indicate a reluctance in carrying out any investigation."
According to public court documents Ms Blair-Manning was suspended on July 28, 2021.
She then attended a meeting on August 13 "and was dismissed with immediate effect."
Documents add: "A Tribunal is likely to find that this process was unfair. She was not told the charges against her, she was not warned that this was a disciplinary hearing, it was over in a few minutes and she was given no right of appeal."
Ms Blair-Manning spoke afterwards to say "a successful outcome is rare" and her substantive claim is still ongoing.
The Nottingham Castle Trust says it "strongly denies all allegations" and believes claims are without merit.
A new chief executive, Robin Bischert, was subsequently employed.
But he announced his departure before Christmas, just a few months into his role.
It is understood a number of the senior leadership team has also left, including the finance director, communication and customer service director, programmes director, two learning and visitor experience managers, the marketing manager, exhibitions manager and the volunteers manager.
Five people, who left in the space of just eight months, have announced their resignations publicly on Twitter.
A letter of no confidence, seen by Nottinghamshire Live and signed by several staff members, has also been sent to the board.
Troubled waters only became murkier when a curator at Nottingham Castle and PhD researcher at Nottingham Trent University, Panya Banjoko, alleged her granddaughters had been exposed to a hate incident within the castle grounds.
She claimed the response to the alleged hate incident from the trust, and lack of anti-racism statement, had been "outrageous".
An investigation by the Charity Commission cleared the trust of any wrongdoing but a second independent investigation, conducted by HR group The People Factor, found failings in how the complainant's, Ms Banjoko's, complaint was handled.
It said: "We find almost entirely in favour of the complainant and advise that the lessons learned from this incident are translated into an appropriate action plan."
In November last year a letter, sparked by Ms Banjoko's allegations, was penned by several current and former employees of colour and sent to the Nottingham Castle Trust board.
They claimed there was an "environment of fear".
This environment has been further spoken of by former staff interviewed in confidence by Nottinghamshire Live.
Responding to the aforementioned issues the castle trust said board members had "tried to observe the proper protocol for matters under investigation and to allow legal processes to take their course, but we feel that these processes are potentially being undermined."
It said members would "welcome any recommendations or lessons to be learned and added: "The trustees want to make it absolutely clear that they abhor any form of discrimination, hate crime and abuse – and racism and will not be tolerated on our premises."
'This is just the start for Nottingham Castle'
What, then, lies ahead?
Nottinghamshire Live has approached the board for an interview, but its members have declined.
Members have only spoken on occasion in the form of statements and an open letter, released amid the various investigations.
Some promised features, such as the land train and Brewhouse Yard, remain to be seen.
It is, however, understood work continues on Brewhouse Yard in the meantime, but the board has not given any details on the missing land train.
While not much else is being revealed as to the site's future, hopes are now being pinned on a new exhibition, titled Laura Knight and Caroline Walker: A Female Gaze.
The exhibition will feature work by two important female British artists, brought together for the first time in an ambitious new presentation.
Born decades apart, both artists examine through paint the remarkable lived experiences of women, while individually celebrating subjects as varied as ballet performers, motherhood, and modern-day NHS heroes.
Exclusive loans have been secured from Tate, the Royal Academy, the Imperial War Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, as well as Nottingham City Museums and Galleries own collection.
In a statement David Johns, interim COO at Nottingham Castle Trust, said: “This is a really exciting milestone for everyone at the Castle. Despite the challenges of Covid-19 and delays to the opening, the team has welcomed 100,000 visitors through the Gatehouse and into the new Visitor Centre.
"People of all ages from Nottingham, and from further afield, visit the Castle which is a great achievement. We are extremely grateful for everyone’s support and thank all our funders, partners, and volunteers.
“This is just the start for Nottingham Castle - we have an exciting new exhibition titled ‘Laura Knight & Caroline Walker: A Female Gaze’ which examines through paint the remarkable lived experiences of women. The opening of the show in March will be a key moment in our programme this year.
"We’re looking forward to welcoming new and return visitors to this unique presentation, as part of the general admission ticket.”
Nottinghamshire Live's invitation to the board for an interview remains open.
Nottingham City Council declined to comment.
