The setting of a date to discuss Nottingham Forest's ambitious City Ground expansion plans marks the clearing of another major hurdle in the project. The Reds first unveiled their proposal to extend the ground back in 2019.
Key to Forest's vision for the City Ground is the demolition of the Peter Taylor Stand and a replacement which would increase its capacity from 5,000 to 10,000 seats. Next to the Peter Taylor Stand would be a residential apartment block with 169 units.
Although these plans were given conditional approval back in July 2022, a series of complex negotiations since have stalled progress. Yet with most issues now being resolved, Rushcliffe's planning committee will again consider the plans on Thursday (June 26). Below are some of the key hurdles Forest have had to clear to get to this stage.
Knocking down a historic boathouse
The Britannia Boathouse, the small white structure next to the stadium, would be demolished under Forest's plans (Image: Joseph Raynor/Nottingham Post)
Currently in the way of Forest's plans for a plaza between its new Peter Taylor Stand and its block of apartments is the historic Britannia Boathouse building. Getting that demolished will open up the area, allowing access from Trentside North into the planned plaza.
The Britannia Boathouse was built by what was once known as the Nottingham Britannia Club, before it merged with the Nottingham Boat Club in 2006 to form the current Nottingham Rowing Club. The three other rowing buildings along the riverside would remain.
This includes two buildings which also belong to the Nottingham Rowing Club, as well as a final structure belonging to the separate Nottingham Union and Rowing Club. A condition of Forest getting full planning permission would be that before any demolition work takes place on the Britannia Boathouse, a replacement site for the club needs to be found.
Rushcliffe Borough Council says that at the moment, no replacement facility has been provided, despite alternative locations having been discussed. The authority says the promise to give the rowing club a new site before demolishing the Britannia would be secured through a legal agreement.
Waterside flats that one firm thought could lose £2 million
The ambition first set out in 2019 by the Reds to expand their stadium included proposals for a huge new block of apartments next to the City Ground. The current ambition will see 170 flats being created, but this element of the plan was recently thrown into doubt by a report from Savills saying the project was financially unviable.
The firm calculated that the worst-case scenario would involve the flats scheme producing a financial loss of £2.3 million, with Savills primarily citing build cost inflation. Yet another study then concluded that the flats would in fact be viable.
Either way, the Peter Taylor Stand and waterside flats elements of the plans have been "de-coupled." Rushcliffe Borough Council has confirmed that if approved at its upcoming planning committee meeting, full planning permission would be given to the stadium expansion element of the plans.
This would mean that in theory, work to knock down and rebuild the Peter Taylor Stand could begin immediately. The residential element of the plans would receive outline planning permission if approved.
This means councillors would be giving broad approval for the scheme, but that Forest would have to come back to the council with further detail on issues like appearance and landscaping before full planning permission was given.
'Complex commercial and legal negotiations'
Crucial to any major planning application is the signing of a section 106 deal, part of a planning agreement in which the applicant pays for local infrastructure improvements. However, a statement on behalf of Forest earlier this year said negotiations over this had been challenging.
The statement read: "Negotiations on the technical and legal drafting of the Section 106 Agreement have, for some time, been agreed but it has not been possible for NFFC to sign the Section 106 Agreement owing to complex commercial and legal negotiations with the several other parties to the Section 106 Agreement.
"As a result it has not been possible for the Section 106 Agreement to be signed and so planning permission has not yet been granted." Yet the statement went on to say that Forest had made enough progress on the issue, giving hope for the first time in a while that the plans were back under discussion.
The statement added: "In recent months, sufficient progress has been made on these negotiations giving NFFC the confidence to enter the Section 106 Agreement and make the significant investment and obligations required of it in the delivery of the proposed development."
Trent Bridge upgrades rejected
Trent Bridge on a glorious, sunny day with the City Ground in the background
Nottingham City Council wanted to explore upgrades for Trent Bridge (Image: Joseph Raynor/Nottingham Post)
One of the key sticking points during the Section 106 debate surrounded transport upgrades. Nottingham Forest rejected a series of Section 106 requests made by Nottingham City Council.
The city council asked for an assessment on whether any highway works would be required on either Lady Bay Bridge or Trent Bridge because of the City Ground redevelopment and that, if any were needed, Forest should pay for them. The club did not accept this request, or another one to financially contribute an unspecified amount to the new cycle and pedestrian bridge over the Trent.
Another request was that the Trentside North and London Road junction should be fully upgraded, but Forest said the development would not require any changes to be made to existing access arrangements from this junction. The city council also asked that all bus stops near the City Ground should be upgraded and paid for by Forest, something the club did not accept.
A similar proposal for cycle routes was also rejected, although Forest have agreed a contribution of £150,000 towards junction and crossing improvement works on the route from the city to its ground.