Hundreds demand change at castle
BOARD DEFENDS ITS RECORD BUT PETITION CALLS FOR THEM TO GO
HUNDREDS of people have signed a petition demanding change at Nottingham Castle after claiming ‘poor governance’ and a ‘series of scandals’ at the attraction.
The online petition on change.org has called for the current board of trustees and other senior figures to step down as part of its demands. As of lunchtime yesterday, it had 406 signatures having being started two days ago.
It also says Nottingham City Council should investigate what it claims are “institutional failings at Nottingham Castle”.
This comes after the Nottingham Castle Trust’s former chief executive, Sara Blair-manning, made allegations of ‘bullying, harassment and inappropriate behaviour’ from the board of trustees.
It also follows an allegation made by Panya Banjoko, a curator at Nottingham Castle and PHD researcher at Nottingham Trent University who said her granddaughters were allegedly exposed to a hate incident within the castle grounds, and criticised the response to the incident from the trust.
The Staff of Colour (SOC) Collective, an anonymous group of former and current employees who had previously spoken out about a “environment of fear”, said they were not responsible for the petition but endorsed its demands
A spokesperson said: “At this time, when Boards and people in positions of power and privilege are coming under increased scrutiny for perpetuation of structural racism, we feel that this petition brings important focus on the problems at Nottingham Castle.
“We echo the petition’s call for scrutiny, defunding and most crucially the resignations of the Chair, Ted Cantle, and other Trustees.”
An open letter released on behalf of the Nottingham Castle Trust board said: “The board continues to be upset and concerned about the recent allegations made public on social media and in the press. We have chosen to act responsibly and to not enter a public discussion.
“First, we would like to respond to the reported hate crime on 17 August 2021. It is reported that an event took place, on our grounds, between two families. It did not involve any castle staff and was not witnessed by them. It was reported to the police by the castle team that day and we are awaiting the conclusion of the police investigation.
“We then received a complaint alleging that our staff had not sufficiently supported one of the families. We take such complaints seriously as we have a duty of care to both our customers and staff.
“An independent investigator has been appointed to investigate the complaint. The independent investigator is a diversity, equality and inclusion specialist.
“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.
“We recognise that this reported hate crime caused considerable upset for staff. The castle is not a place where staff or visitors should feel unsafe. Our objective in appointing an independent investigator is that they will be able to establish the facts and make any recommendations.”
Nottingham Castle was reopened on June 21 after a three-year refurbishment project that cost £30m.
The letter went on to address claims made by its former CEO and said that trustees had been “subject to a regrettable trial by social and other media”.
“The trust is also concerned about the allegations surrounding the dismissal of its former CEO. Various allegations, including bullying and harassment, were claims made in an application dismissed by the employment tribunals in a judgement, issued on 26 September 2021, following an interim hearing brought by the former CEO against the trust.
“Despite Covid restrictions, the number of visitors over the summer months after the castle reopened on 21 June 2021 speak for themselves. The trustees recognise the hard work our passionate staff have put into creating an enjoyable visitor experience.
“We strongly believe that individually and as teams, that they should be incredibly proud of their contribution.
“A great deal rides on the success of the castle as a visitor attraction but also how it contributes to the resuscitation of the local economy. Our staff are ambassadors not only of the castle but of this wonderful city.
“The trustees have been subject to a regrettable trial by social and other media, despite the huge achievement in bringing the scheme to fruition during a period of financial stringency and the Covid restrictions.
“We will not be entering into any further discourse about any of these matters while they are subject to a police investigation, the independent investigations we have commissioned and the ongoing employment tribunal proceedings.
“We ask the public to allow these investigations and legal process to proceed without further comment.”