Professor and ex-council boss in blame war over Nottingham Castle

Nottingham City Council's former leader has hit back at criticism from the man who once ran Nottingham Castle - saying his time in charge "seemed to lurch from one bad decision to another". David Mellen has responded to comments made by Professor Ted Cantle, saying he took a "combative approach" whilst in charge and that meetings with him were "negative and difficult".

Run by Nottingham City Council since 1878, the authority closed Nottingham Castle in 2018 for a £31 million transformation. The site then reopened in the summer of 2021 and control was handed to the Nottingham Castle Trust, chaired by Professor Cantle.

The professor, who was also the chief executive of the city council between 1990 and 2001, ended up stepping down as the trust's chairman in September 2022 and, just two months later, the trust went into liquidation. The castle reopened under the city council again in 2023.

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Professor Cantle recently spoke out for the first time about his tenure at Nottingham Castle, saying the council failed to turn the site into a global attraction by delivering promised improvements including the replacement of the former Central College on Maid Marian Way. Professor Cantle also says a coach-drop off on Castle Road was opposed by the council and never used.

David Mellen, who led the council during the tenure of the Nottingham Castle Trust and during the site's reopening in 2023, has now defended the authority's actions. Councillor Mellen said: "In my experience on the council, I have seen people take on responsibilities beyond expectation who welcome accountability and transparency – unfortunately I have also seen those who regard every failure as someone else's fault.

"[Nottingham] Post readers can decide for themselves which may be the case for the Nottingham Castle Trust." Councillor Mellen criticises several elements of the Nottingham Castle Trust's tenure at the site, saying an alleged racist incident was handled "insensitively" and that an "undisclosed amount of public money was spent on lawyers in a dispute between the trust and the former chief executive".

Responding to these points, Professor Cantle said: "I offered to meet Councillor Mellen to show him how the city council had been hostile to the trust. He refused to meet me and listen, despite my repeating the offer.

"It is true that the trust was combative, but only in that we had to try to get the city to deliver what it had agreed. The council seemed to resent us reminding them of their responsibilities. It is true that the trust was beset with false allegations but rather than support the trust, the council continued to undermine the trust."

Councillor Mellen, who says the transformation of the former Central College remains in the council's plans, reserves most of his criticism for the prices charged under the trust's tenure. The former council leader said: "The ticketing scheme priced many Nottingham families out of attending by adding additional charges to visit the Robin Hood Gallery, clearly the most attractive part of the castle for children.

"This is now included in the entrance fee and children under 16 can come in for free with an accompanying adult. The trust failed to bring in the promised 'season ticket' where local people could visit the castle as many times as they wanted in a year for one price, thus missing the opportunity to give advantage to Nottingham residents. This has now been introduced since the castle was returned to the council following the trust, that Mr Cantle chaired, going insolvent."

Councillor Mellen also says visitor numbers failed to reach expectations of 300,000 a year under the trust, which Professor Cantle primarily pins on the Covid pandemic. The former leader, who also says the coach drop-off was in fact implemented on Peveril Drive, said: "Mr Cantle was a decent chief executive of the council, but his time as the chair of the trust saw it unfortunately seem to lurch from one bad decision to another."

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Professor Cantle said in a new statement: "Councillor Mellen has not disputed any of the evidence I provided that demonstrated how the city council had failed to complete the agreed scheme and the related works. And he does not dispute that the scheme is now no longer the national standard that they agreed to provide.

"He has clearly forgotten that it was the trust that conceived and set up the single annual charge for visitors. The number of paying visitors - and annual income - is still well below what is needed to be the success intended.

"The castle still has the potential to deliver more economic growth for the city and that should be a joint aim - and the city council should be putting disputes behind them and working with the former trust members and other parties to understand this potential and deliver what was intended, for the benefit of Nottingham citizens."

Defending the castle's performance since the council took it back on, Councillor Mellen added: "The first year's visitor numbers exceeded expectations. And whilst there are surely further improvements that can be made, the castle is an attractive space full of an interactive mix of history and folklore alongside sensitively presented artwork and gallery space set in beautiful grounds.

"And of course, there is the wonderful adventure playground and visitor centre." Other improvements planned around the castle included the pedestrianisation of Castle Road and a new public square opposite the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem.