Castle revamp will be a ‘catalyst’ for city’s regeneration
Nottingham Castle will reopen to the public in June, having been closed since 2018 for a £30m restoration. Joseph Locker finds out how the new-look visitor attraction will help to boost the city’s fortunes
ON June 21 Nottingham Castle will lower its drawbridge, figuratively, for all to see its remarkable restoration.
Stepping inside the walls it is immediately evident that the Nottingham Castle Trust has succesfully achieved making the site a “worldclass” attraction, with hopes to attract a global audience to the benefit of the city.
The Ducal mansion now houses elegant galleries and a museum filled with intriguing and interactive displays, while the castle undercroft has been used for an immersive Robin Hood experience to tell the story of the famous outlaw.
Sitting atop Castle Rock, overlooking a city that has been transformed by numerous large-scale developments, it would be difficult to not feel hopeful after a remarkably difficult year tainted by economic turmoil and isolation.
Councillor David Mellen, the leader of a city council that has without doubt suffered a number of almost fatal blows of late, hopes it can put Nottingham back on even footing.
He said: “It’s going to be an exciting place to visit for people in Nottingham, but also we hope the coaches come streaming in with tourists.
“It is very, very exciting. It combines restoring history with modern technology, particularly in the Robin Hood gallery.
“It is also a stimulus for the city opening up and regrowth. We think there are going to be in excess of 400 new jobs because of tourism and another £200m in our economy because of that.
“We have put money into it, as has the Arts Council and many others, and we think it is money well spent.
“We are very excited about what the castle will do, not just for those who visit for a day, but what it does for Nottingham.
“We hope people will come and go somewhere to eat or stay overnight. For those who maybe cannot walk for four hours, ultimately we will have a season ticket where you can go back as many times as you want; they are not starting with that but it is part of their plans. It will make it more affordable for city people.
“I think the cafes will be popular. I was standing yesterday on the rock with the city behind you, it is a great view. People go to Edinburgh Castle and that is part of the experience looking out over the city and we have that too.”
Perhaps one of Nottingham’s biggest - and most visually evident disasters is that of the Broadmarsh Centre.
What was once a highly-publicised vision for a new shopping centre and so-called “retail experience” now lies as a shattered pile of those hopes and dreams.
Councillor Mellen added: “Broadmarsh is clearly a challenge for us and we have spent time talking to the people of Nottingham. We now have an advisory group helping to shape a vision and we have got some money to start the demolition.
“But around it you have got the castle on one side and the college on the other and the whole area around Collin Street, the new buildings on Carrington Street, and even the new HMRC building. It is a real hive of industry.
“That’s without even going to the Island Quarter. People can be forgiven for feeling desolate about some of the aspects of the Broadmarsh, but really it is surrounded by lots of successful things.”
One of the investors in the project was the National Heritage Lottery Fund, which has invested billions in projects across the country which have, in turn, improved countless communities.
But why did the fund invest right here in Nottingham?
Anne Jenkins, director for England Midlands and East, National Lottery Heritage Fund, says she also believed in the castle’s potential to bring the city back to life.
Speaking to the Post, she said: “It was a big investment but what we could see was that there was huge potential.
“Along with the proposals for ongoing regeneration, the castle would fit in really neatly in that regeneration of the city centre in the future.
“It could be a regeneration.
“We all know town centres and city centres are struggling and they have got to have a new purpose.
“There are thousands of years of Nottingham history in the castle, so it is not only important to the city, it is nationally important.”
There are going to be in excess of 400 new jobs because of tourism and another £200m in our economy Coun David Mellen
catalyst for the
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