Date of college site's closure revealed but silence over 'castle gateway' plan for it

The keys for the building will be handed back to the city council - but its future is uncertain

The date of a long-standing Nottingham college's final closure has been revealed but there is uncertainty over the 'castle gateway' once planned to replace it. It's been confirmed that students will leave Nottingham city centre's Maid Marian Way college site during the upcoming half term holiday in a move that will seemingly signal the end of the decades-old school building.

The brutalist structure, which was built in the 1960s and sits in the shadow of Nottingham Castle, has been the temporary home of Bluecoat Academy's sixth form since September 2021. The academy had needed the space while its new £30 million Bluecoat Trent Academy was built where Nottingham College's former Clarendon campus once stood, with Archway Learning Trust set to hand the building back to Nottingham City Council on December 31.

The Maid Marian Way site, which was previously known as Central College and before that the People's College, was last occupied by Nottingham College before it relocated to its £58 million city hub in late 2020. The city council had said the school would be turned into a 'gateway to the castle' in 2018 with a mix of tourism, retail and office uses, but little has been said about the once-planned redevelopment since.

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At the time a council representative had said: "This is an important, prominent gateway site close to the castle which is expected to contribute to the positive transformation of the area. Development should be sensitive to, and maximise opportunities provided by the historic environment and incorporate high quality open space that preserves or enhances the significance and setting of heritage assets."

The scheme was one part of what the council called the Southern Gateway project, but many of the ambitions outlined at the time have not materialised six years on. Nottingham City Council was contacted for comment, but failed to respond.

Hilary Silvester, executive vice-president of Nottingham Civic Society, explained she had not noticed any concrete proposals for the structure in recent years. "It may have fallen by the wayside with the council's other spending priorities, everything in the city is up in the air at the moment," the conservationist said.

Ms Silvester added she feared the large college could become "another empty building that goes to waste". A potential redevelopment would be popular with some due to the building's divisive appearance, she said, but would have to take into account the site's closeness to Nottingham Castle.

"There are mixed opinions on that building, some people say it's ugly and it might as well come down, but other people say it's actually quite interesting how it's designed on the slope. I think there is a case that the area could be made more appealing, but like with anything near the castle we need to be wary of anything new that blocks or obscures the views of it."