A former Nottingham Castle worker has been angered by its 'cruel' closure which left people jobless before Christmas. The Nottingham Castle Trust on Monday, November 21 confirmed it had started appointing liquidators, just a year since its three-year £33 million renovation was completed in June 2021.
However, despite the trust's goal for it to open as a 'world-class' heritage site, the last 18 months have been marred by a number of high-profile incidents. Former chief executive Sara Blair-Manning left in August 2021, with Ms Blair-Manning taking the trust to an employment tribunal, claiming she was unfairly dismissed.
A letter of no confidence was also sent to the Trust board and there were allegations of a hate incident within the castle grounds. A former employee, who worked at the Castle since its reopening and wanted to remain anonymous, has now spoken of how they felt 'thrown out' as they were made redundant on the day of the closure.
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"We are all extremely sad and angry. The treatment we had was disgusting and cruel," they said.
"We got no notice at all. We weren't told there were difficulties or to look for another job.
"One of the managers said we had to leave immediately. We stood in the garden and were informed the Castle was going into liquidation and this was our last day. We were told to hand our pass cards and go home.
"We were told to go and then we were on the street, I had to get my handbag but it felt like they wanted to get rid of us as quick as possible. We were thrown into the bin."
The trust's board said the immense challenges posed by the pandemic, the financial crisis and three-fold rise in energy costs, paired with lower than expected visitor numbers, meant the charitable trust model was no longer workable. But the worker accused the top officials who had overseen the Castle's troubled last 18 months of making poor decisions, claiming the former Chairman Ted Cantle, who stepped down in September, had left a 'sinking ship'.
"Nobody knows anything. From the beginning there was very poor management and poor decisions - they had no idea how to run a historical building. They spent a lot of money on stupid things.
"My question is what went wrong? We were all working non-stop to make the Castle a success, but then it was all finished and gone. Everybody worked so hard.
"Everybody is devastated we wanted to make it nice, but with this board you cannot do anything."
"By losing their jobs at Christmas staff will probably have to wait months for a new job, in a very difficult time in this country. We have a cost of living crisis and you have to pay the high heating and electrifies bills - but the people high up won't care as it doesn't effect them."
Nottinghamshire Live understands Ted Cantle stepped down from the board at the time he did to enable the scheme and redevelopment to continue to progress, and did so in the best interests of the Castle.
A statement published by the board on, Monday, November 21, praised the "immense dedication" of staff. "We are saddened and hugely disappointed to announce that today, Nottingham Castle Trust (‘the Trust’) has begun the process of appointing liquidators. This is a heart breaking day for trustees, our staff, visitors, and the city. Despite the immense dedication of staff and volunteers, the Castle is now closed to visitors," It said.
“Tim Bateson and Chris Pole of Interpath Advisory have been nominated by the board to be appointed as liquidators to formally wind up the affairs of the Trust. Their appointment will take place during the course of the next ten days.
“While visitor numbers have been improving, they have unfortunately remained highly unpredictable and significantly below forecasts, mirroring the difficulties seen across the whole cultural sector. In line with heritage organisations and attractions across the UK, Nottingham Castle experienced a particularly tough summer that has negatively impacted expected funding streams.
“As the charity that operated Nottingham Castle on behalf of Nottingham City Council, the Trust’s business model and financing was agreed in 2017 and we are now in a fundamentally different social and economic environment. The immense challenges posed by the pandemic, the financial crisis and the three-fold rise in energy costs meant that this charitable trust model was no longer workable, and the Trust was simply not able to evolve quickly enough to survive the ongoing economic crisis as it enters its quietest trading period of the year.
“We stand by the vibrant vision that was set for Nottingham Castle in 2017 and are hopeful that a new operator will realise and take this forward in the near future for the benefit of our fantastic city. We would like to thank all of Nottingham Castle Trust’s supporters, including the thousands of visitors that have been through our gates. Finally, a huge thank you to staff and volunteers who made Nottingham Castle such an amazing place to visit.”
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