A bid for funding to restore Nottingham Castle and make more of its connection with Robin Hood has been rejected.
Nottingham City Council applied for £14.9m towards the £26m development, which it hoped would create a “world class heritage attraction”.
The Heritage Lottery Fund said requests for grants was “highly competitive” and it did not have enough money.
The council said it will now develop the concept plans further and re-submit its bid.
The project included the construction of a discovery centre and improving access to the castle’s caves.
Chairman of the Castle Working Group, Ted Cantle, said: “Naturally, we’re disappointed not to have got the funding straight away but we remain totally committed to the castle project.
“We have been encouraged to have another go when more grant money from the Heritage Lottery Fund will be available.”
Several people from the city, including Nottingham North MP Graham Allen, have called for Nottingham to make more of its connections with Robin Hood.
The Nottingham Castle project was given due consideration by the Heritage Lottery Fund along with 11 other bids from the UK.
Six of the projects have been successful, and a total of £68m will be given to them.
Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund East Midlands, Vanessa Harbar said: “Nottingham Castle and its wider site have played a hugely significant role in our national history over the past millennia.
“We know this news must be very disappointing but our recent board meeting was over-subscribed and highly competitive meaning we sadly did not have enough money to support all the applications we looked at on the day.”
The Heritage Lottery Fund officials will meet with the Castle Working Group to give feedback on where the application went wrong.
The working group plans to submit its new bid in November.
Previous Post
Government Launches High Street Management Qualification
