Two major elements of Nottingham Forest's City Ground transformation have been "de-coupled" as efforts continue to progress the plans. A hybrid planning application, featuring both the redevelopment of the Peter Taylor Stand and the construction of 170 waterside flats, was first submitted in 2019.
The application was given conditional approval in 2022 but given one of the conditions was development beginning within three years, this approval will soon expire. Getting plans approved will be crucial to Forest finally agreeing a deal to buy the land on which the City Ground sits off Nottingham City Council, bringing to an end a row which saw the club consider a move to Toton at one stage.
Uncertainty over the plans was created by a report from Savills which said the waterside flats element of the project was financially unviable. Yet another company produced a different opinion and in a new report, published on May 14, Savills has announced a new update on how Forest's plans will proceed.
The company's report says: "Extensive discussion has previously taken place with Rushcliffe Borough Council with regards to the 'enabling development' relationship between the new Peter Taylor Stand and plaza and the residential development. As with many other stadia development, enabling development is used to assist in the delivery and investment in stadium improvements which carry significant capital expenditure costs.
"It has recently been agreed with Rushcliffe Borough Council that the two component parts of the hybrid planning application would be 'de-coupled', removing their enabling development relationship and allowing the two components to be considered on their own merits."
The Reds first revealed their ambitious stadium expansion plans in 2019, the first phase of which includes the Peter Taylor Stand redevelopment and the construction of the flats. The club confirmed in a recent update they were confident a significant hurdle to this first phase had been cleared.
The plans were first given conditional approval in 2022 but delays have persisted since then over the Section 106 deal - part of a planning agreement in which the applicant pays for local infrastructure improvements. Forest said they had now agreed a Section 106 deal and expect Rushcliffe Borough Council to reconsider the plans soon, with work expected to get under way shortly after.
Forest's broader plans include improving and, in the case of the Bridgford Stand, extending the other three sides of the ground. The overall masterplan aims to get stadium capacity from just short of 30,000 up to 40,000.