Nottingham Castle needs your help

Nottingham City Council is submitting a refreshed proposal for a world class tourist attraction in the next round of Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF).

Whilst the initial bid for £15m to revitalise Nottingham Castle was not selected earlier this year, the Castle Working Group, (a business led partnership involving Nottingham City Council and a range of Nottingham stakeholders) have strengthened the proposals further to meet the next submission deadline (30 November).

The public have another opportunity to have their say on the proposals when a second round of consultation begins on Thursday 10 October, running until 31 October. The public are invited to come along to the Castle during this period or complete an online questionnaire on the Nottingham City Council’s website to feedback their views. www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/nottinghamcastlehys/

Initial feedback from the HLF identified a number of positives for the Castle Bid including the strong consensus from a wide range of stakeholders, the quality and vision of the proposals, the "Rebellion" theme, the development of the Caves and the Castle collections.

Since the outcome of the initial bid, a number of key aspects of the re-development scheme have been taken forward which will be incorporated into the revised bid.

Thanks to a grant of £125,000 the Museums and Galleries Service are developing a series of Augmented Reality applications for a new gallery at Nottingham Castle.  Augmented Reality is the process of superimposing digitally created images onto real-world surroundings, creating a virtual reality that can be viewed on smart phones and tablets. The gallery will feature the destruction of the former Ducal Palace during the Reform Bill Riots that took place in Nottingham in 1831, using the perspectives of different witnesses who either participated in the riots, or saw the Castle destroyed. The project will play a significant part in the planning and testing of new, digital technologies within museum exhibition areas and will be an exciting first step in the redevelopment strategy for the Castle.

City Council Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Tourism, Councillor Dave Trimble said:

"We know it's been a fiercely competitive process this time around and it's not unusual for bids like ours to have to undertake further work and development prior to achieving such a large award.

We were encouraged by the feedback we received from the Heritage Lottery Fund and have worked in partnership with the Castle Working Group to undertake further work and development to present an even stronger offer in November.

Our ambition remains to create a world-class visitor attraction at the Castle which would also bring the additional benefits of regenerating the surrounding area, bringing major investment into our city and creating and sustaining hundreds of jobs.”

Chair of the Castle Working Group, Ted Cantle, said:

"We know we have put together a strong and ambitious proposal with a clear vision of what we want to achieve. Importantly, the HLF have recognised the significance of Nottingham Castle which has given us a strong platform to build on.”

On Thursday the exterior of the Castle will be illuminated to commemorate the anniversary of the burning of Nottingham Castle. It is hoped that this symbolic gesture will encourage local residents to give a thought to their predecessors, who took part in the riots in 1831, whilst raising awareness of Nottingham’s importance nationally within social protest and rebellion through the ages.

A special Reform Act Riot Walk will set off from Saint Peter's Square (just outside M&S) at 6pm to mark the reform act riots that took place and retrace the rioters’ footsteps. The walk will be led by Radical history group People's Histreh who are inputting on the RIOT 1831 project.