City council may have to write off £2.68m owed by castle

NOTTINGHAM City Council has said it could be forced to write off debts and loans of £2.68 million following the closure of Nottingham Castle.

The council confirmed a loan totalling £1.859m was provided to the Nottingham Castle Trust to help with its initial start-up. It also stated it has outstanding unpaid invoices for services provided to the Trust, which come to £821,000.

Nottingham Castle closed to visitors on Monday as the trust responsible for operating the site announced it had started the process of appointing liquidators, describing it as a “heartbreaking day”.

The castle reopened in June last year after a three-year £33 million renovation.

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 incidents.

Former chief executive Sara Blairmanning left in August 2021, with Ms Blair-manning taking the trust to an employment tribunal, claiming she was unfairly dismissed.

The former CEO of Nottingham Castle called for an investigation into the castle’s closure. She also confirmed she intends to pursue her claim for unfair dismissal against Trustees of the site.

In a statement, a City Council spokesperson said: “To help enable the start-up for the Nottingham Castle Trust the council provided a loan for the company of £1.859 million.

“In addition, the council has outstanding unpaid invoices for services provided to the Trust of £821k.

“Therefore, if no return is received from the winding up of the company, the council will need to potentially write off debts and loans totalling £2.68m.”