Council leader asleep at the wheel as cultural sector threatened in city

Nottingham Liberal Democrats have condemned the University of Nottingham's proposal to suspend courses including Music, Modern Languages, and American and Canadian Studies, warning that the city's cultural and media landscape is being eroded with little meaningful intervention from the City Council.

Lloydie James Lloyd, spokesperson for Nottingham Liberal Democrats, said: "This announcement is yet another blow to Nottingham's cultural infrastructure. We are witnessing the dismantling of pathways that have long enabled young people to pursue careers in the arts and media – and the council leadership appears to be asleep at the wheel.”

The Lib Dems are calling for immediate action to convene senior leadership from both universities with the Leader of the City Council.

“The Labour Government say they are all about growth; The creative industries represent around 6% of the UK’s economy. It’s time for a Labour council leader to pick up the phone to their colleagues in Westminster and convene a meeting with those making decisions at they city’s universities.” said Mr Lloyd.

The University's decision comes on the heels of Nottingham Trent University's closure of Notts TV in August, which resulted in nine job losses and eliminated a vital training ground for new journalists. The station, which had been broadcasting since 2014, provided real-world experience for journalism students and held the BBC's Local Democracy Reporting contract for Nottinghamshire.

”I’ve spent nearly 30 years working in culture and media. This year has seen some significant blows to the sector and the City Council have barely said a word let alone taken any steps to stop the rot.” Mr Lloyd added. “Notts TV wasn't just a television station – it was a gateway for future journalists. Its closure has removed critical work experience opportunities that cannot easily be replaced. When combined with the University of Nottingham now suspending courses essential to the creative industries, we are seeing a systematic erosion of the very foundations that support our city's cultural sector.”

The pattern of decline extends back more than a decade. The 2010 Digital Economy Act, passed by the last Labour Government, fundamentally changed local radio broadcasting regulations, allowing stations to share premises and reduce locally-made content requirements. This legislation effectively dismantled much of Nottingham's local radio landscape, consolidating programming away from communities and reducing the diversity of voices on air.

"Nottingham's cultural heritage is formidable. As a UNESCO City of Literature since 2015, the city is home to the legacy of Lord Byron, D.H. Lawrence, and Alan Sillitoe. Yet this rich heritage now stands in stark contrast to the current reality. Since 2021, Nottingham City Council has repeatedly cut cultural funding – reducing all grants to cultural organisations to zero. While they stumble from crisis to crisis, the city suffers”

"We need urgent dialogue between the council leadership, the Labour Government, the University of Nottingham's Vice-Chancellor, and NTU's Vice-Chancellor," Lloyd stated. "These decisions cannot be made in isolation. The universities and the council must work together to understand the cumulative impact of these closures on Nottingham's young people, on our cultural sector, and on the city's economic future."

Mr Lloyd concluded: "Nottingham's UNESCO City of Literature designation was recognition of centuries of literary brilliance – from Byron's romantic poetry to Lawrence's transformative novels, from Sillitoe's working-class chronicles to our thriving contemporary writing scene. But a living literary and cultural tradition requires investment, infrastructure, and institutions. Without them, we risk becoming a city that merely trades on past glories rather than creating new ones. The council leadership must wake up and act before it's too late."