City Ground revamp plans on the table

Image: City Ground, Arne Müseler, CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Nottingham Forest’s plans to expand their City Ground home could take a significant step forward this week when they go in front of council planners.

The Nottingham Post said the club has now confirmed that Rushcliffe Borough Council’s planning committee will be considering revised plans for the development on June 26.

The English Premier League club first unveiled the scheme in 2019 and although planning permission was first given in 2022, updates have been needed since and the plans therefore need to be considered again.

The scheme is largely the same as the one presented in 2022, meaning that several landmark buildings around the stadium and fronting the riverside are set to be demolished.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, England (UK). The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.

The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England (UK) on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest F.C. since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,455.

Many of the buildings which are set to go as the development progresses are owned by Forest, yet other structures are proving more controversial.

The demolition of the Peter Taylor Stand is a central element of the scheme. It will be replaced with a new stand which would increase its capacity from 5,000 to 10,000 seats. The stand would continue to be accessed from Pavilion Road, with service access from Trentside North.

Next to the Peter Taylor Stand a residential apartment block would be built with 169 units, including 88 one-bedroom flats, 76 two-bedroom flats and five three-bedroom flats.

The 13-storey building, with a maximum height of 40 metres above street level, would also contain seven retail units on the ground floor.

The L-shaped apartment block would broadly take over the ground space currently occupied by Forest’s champion centre, club shop and storage warehouse buildings.

The club shop would be relocated within the City Ground, on the south-west corner of the replacement Peter Taylor Stand.

The shop would be on the ground floor of a new four-storey building on the south west corner, which would then feature a ‘Trentside Lounge’ hospitality area on the floors above.

On the demolition of these three buildings, Rushcliffe Borough Council planners say: “These are all modern structures and have limited architectural or historic value.

“The council’s conservation officer has also raised no objection in relation to the demolition of these structures. It is therefore considered that the demolition of these structures would not harmfully affect the setting of any adjacent listed buildings.”

One of the more controversial elements of Forest’s plans has been the proposed demolition of the Britannia Boathouse building on Trentside North.

Forest want to bulldoze it to build a new plaza between the new Peter Taylor Stand and the apartment building, allowing pedestrian movement between Pavilion Road and Trentside North.

Rushcliffe’s planners say the Britannia Boathouse is one of the later structures alongside the riverbank, first appearing on historic maps in 1915. The planning officers say: “Over time, the building has been added to and extended to the extent that much of the original fabric, character and appearance has been altered, covered, or removed.

“While the building has some historic social value as an entertainment venue visited by major artists in the 1960s and 1970s, and was also used by local bands, the Britannia Boathouse has limited architectural or historic value.”

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.

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.

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