Nottingham Forest’s City Ground redevelopment has moved forward after councillors backed plans to expand the Peter Taylor Stand and Trent End, taking the stadium’s capacity to around 45,000.
First published 22 August 2026. Updated 17 September following the planning committee’s decision on the Peter Taylor Stand and Trent End application.
Rushcliffe Borough Council’s planning committee voted by 10 votes to one in favour of the detailed application on Wednesday 16 September. Councillor Sue Mallender voted against.
The resolution to approve remains subject to completion of a Section 106 legal agreement and planning conditions, including requirements covering transport, crowd safety, construction and neighbouring homes.
Councillors also added a requirement for a community liaison group with local representation and brought forward the deadline for protecting a retained house adjoining a property due to be demolished.
A separate outline application concerns redevelopment of the Brian Clough Stand, which could take the overall capacity to 52,500. The council’s confirmation of that application’s outcome is awaited after the livestream failed before the decision.
The first decision does not mean Forest can immediately begin the full construction programme or use the increased capacity. Further requirements must be met at different stages of the development.
Here is how the plans have developed and what still needs to happen.
The original City Ground redevelopment
Forest first unveiled plans to redevelop the City Ground in 2019.
The centrepiece was the demolition of the existing Peter Taylor Stand and its replacement with a larger five-storey stand accommodating around 10,000 supporters.
That proposal would have increased the stadium’s overall capacity from approximately 30,500 to about 35,000.
The scheme also included expanded hospitality areas, the demolition of the existing club shop and Champion Centre, improvements to the public space around the stadium and the removal of the nearby Britannia Boathouse.
A residential development was proposed on adjoining land to help support the wider project. The original submission envisaged up to 250 homes, although this was later reduced to approximately 170 apartments with commercial units at ground-floor level.
The plans encountered delays involving land ownership, the replacement of Nottingham Rowing Club’s facilities, environmental assessments and negotiations between Forest and Nottingham City Council, which owned the stadium freehold.
Approval in 2022
Rushcliffe Borough Council’s planning committee approved the original redevelopment in July 2022, with nine councillors voting in favour and two against.
Full permission covered the replacement Peter Taylor Stand, public realm, club shop and associated stadium works. Outline permission was granted for the residential development.
Work did not begin before the consent approached its expiry date, however, and the proposals returned to the planning process in 2025.
During that period, Forest’s promotion to the Premier League and growing demand for tickets led the club to consider a substantially larger development.
Land negotiations and a possible move away
A separate issue concerned ownership of the land beneath the stadium.
Nottingham City Council had been charging Forest £250,000 a year in rent, but a proposed increase to £1 million contributed to an impasse between the parties.
The uncertainty prompted discussions about whether Forest could leave the City Ground, with land at Toton among the possible alternative locations considered.
In July 2024, the city council agreed to make the City Ground freehold available for sale to Forest.
Forest said any purchase would be conditional on securing the planning permissions needed to deliver its larger stadium ambitions.
The 2025 version
The Peter Taylor Stand and apartment plans returned to Rushcliffe Borough Council in June 2025, largely because of the time that had passed since the original approval.
The residential element had been revised to 169 apartments, comprising 88 one-bedroom, 76 two-bedroom and five three-bedroom homes. Seven commercial units and 67 parking spaces were also proposed.
The plans were approved again, with an updated Section 106 agreement covering matters including transport, education, sports facilities and the replacement rowing facilities.
At that point, the scheme remained focused on a stadium of around 35,000 seats.
The apartments were later dropped as Forest developed a more ambitious stadium-only proposal.
The latest plan: first 45,000, then 52,500
In January 2026, Forest submitted two new linked applications for a stadium holding as many as 52,500 supporters.
These replace the earlier model centred on the Peter Taylor Stand and residential development.
The detailed application for the Peter Taylor Stand and Trent End received the committee’s backing on 16 September, subject to conditions and completion of the legal agreement. It covers:
- Demolition and complete replacement of the Peter Taylor Stand
- New lower, middle and upper seating tiers
- Infilling of the corners beside the Trent End
- Expanded hospitality and event facilities
- New public plazas and riverside spaces
- Improvements to walking and cycling routes
- Demolition of the existing shop, Champion Centre and two boathouses
This phase would increase the City Ground’s capacity to approximately 45,000.
The new Peter Taylor Stand would dominate the southern side of the ground.
The replacement Peter Taylor Stand would be substantially larger than the existing structure, with a prominent sculptural roof arch. The Trent End would be retained, with additional tiers constructed above its existing roof and the corners infilled.
The design includes a continuous red roof and stone cladding intended to reference Nottingham’s sandstone architecture.
More than 5,500 hospitality seats are proposed across the redeveloped parts of the stadium, with facilities designed to accommodate conferences, community uses and other events outside matchdays.
The second application seeks outline permission to demolish and rebuild the Brian Clough Stand at a later date.
That phase could provide up to another 7,500 seats, taking the final capacity to 52,500 and creating a more complete wraparound stadium.
Forest’s indicative programme envisages the Peter Taylor Stand and Trent End works being completed for the start of the 2030/31 season. The Brian Clough Stand could follow by the beginning of the 2033/34 season.
Those dates remain dependent on planning permission, construction arrangements and the delivery of the different phases.
Riverside and public spaces
The latest plans are not limited to the seating areas.
Forest wants to open previously inaccessible riverside land, improve the Trent Valley Way and provide larger pedestrian plazas around the Peter Taylor Stand.
The existing Peter Taylor Stand car park would largely disappear and be replaced by public space.
Walking and cycling routes around the stadium would be widened or reorganised to accommodate the substantially larger crowds expected before and after matches.
A separate planning application has also been submitted for a new three-storey club shop near the stadium. No customer or staff parking is proposed as part of that development.
Homes acquired for enabling works
Forest has secured permission to demolish five vacant properties it owns near the ground.
The properties are at 27 Rosebery Avenue and 17, 19, 21 and 23 Colwick Road.
The demolition is intended to allow utility, infrastructure and site-preparation work to be undertaken before the main construction programme.
Rushcliffe Borough Council’s decision allows the houses to be demolished, but it does not grant permission for the wider stadium redevelopment.
Parking at the City Ground
A central part of Forest’s transport strategy is reducing the number of supporters driving directly to the stadium.
The City Ground currently has around 375 spaces, including 41 accessible bays. The proposals would remove 143 and leave approximately 232.
Parking beside the Peter Taylor Stand would fall from 152 spaces to nine, allowing most of the land to become a pedestrian plaza.
On matchdays, the remaining stadium parking would be pre-booked and largely restricted to operational staff, disabled visitors and VIPs. General supporter parking inside the ground would end.
Cycle parking would increase from ten to 140 spaces.
Matchday parking controls across West Bridgford
An initial Stadium Event Day Controlled Parking Zone could cover around 4,800 currently unrestricted on-street spaces across parts of West Bridgford, Lady Bay and areas north of the River Trent.
The suggested zone would operate for eight hours on event days, beginning four hours before kick-off and ending four hours afterwards – normally around two hours after the final whistle.
It could reserve spaces for residents and businesses with permits and extend existing restrictions on matchdays.
Forest’s assessment says the measures could reduce drivers searching for spaces or using residential streets close to the ground.
The club would also stop officially directing supporters towards independent car parks that accept cash or payment on arrival. Drivers would instead be encouraged to use pre-booked parking, park-and-ride sites and larger car parks outside West Bridgford and Lady Bay.
No controlled parking zone has been approved. Its boundary, hours, permit system, funding and enforcement arrangements would require agreement between the relevant councils and consultation with residents and businesses.
The proposed £7 park-and-ride package
Forest wants to work with Nottingham Express Transit to offer a combined parking and tram package costing about £7 per vehicle.
The price would include a reserved space and tram travel for the driver and up to three passengers.
The proposed participating tram sites are:
- Clifton
- Forest
- Wilkinson Street
- Phoenix Park
- Moor Bridge
- Hucknall
- Toton Lane
Supporters would be encouraged to leave the tram at Meadows Embankment and walk for around 30 minutes to the City Ground using Wilford Suspension Bridge.
More than 5,000 spaces are available across the seven tram-connected sites, while Forest’s assessment says the three nearest sites have remained well below capacity on matchdays.
Forest is also proposing matchday shuttle buses from Queen’s Drive and Racecourse park-and-ride sites.
Queen’s Drive buses would drop passengers near Wilford Suspension Bridge, around a 12-minute walk from the stadium. Racecourse services would stop near the Brian Clough Stand.
The proposed shuttles would operate every ten minutes, or when full, from three hours before kick-off and after the match.
Transport funding and safeguards
Transport funding and safeguards
The transport package discussed by the committee includes £1.75 million towards bus services, £990,000 for parking restrictions and approximately £386,000 towards park-and-ride facilities.
Officers said the park-and-ride contribution would help existing sites operate at the times required for matches. No new park-and-ride sites were proposed as part of the stadium application.
An updated travel plan must set out how supporters will be encouraged to use public transport, walking and cycling. Detailed incentives remained to be agreed at the meeting, so proposals such as the previously reported £7 parking-and-tram package should not be treated as confirmed services.
Councillors questioned whether the forecast reduction in reliance on cars could be achieved. Officers said monitoring, revised travel plans and additional funding for mitigation would be used if targets were missed.
A transport working group would consider the development’s effects and further measures. Councillors added a requirement for a community liaison group with local representation to feed into that work.
The controlled parking zone remains subject to a separate consultation and traffic regulation order process. Officers said the legal agreement would provide for alternative measures if the zone could not be implemented, although those alternatives had not yet been identified.
Free public transport with match tickets and towing illegally parked vehicles were suggested during the debate. Neither became a specific requirement of the committee’s decision.
Other parking locations
The transport assessment identifies more than 11,000 spaces within a 20-minute walk of the City Ground or a short tram journey.
Nottingham railway station and Nottingham Emmanuel School are among the sites that could be promoted routinely. Parking at Meadows Embankment and Meadow Lane could be advertised when higher demand was expected.
The assessment assumes public matchday parking at County Hall would be discontinued, although parking for staff working at County Hall and the Environment Agency offices could remain.
Trent Bridge lane reductions opposed by highway authorities
River crossings: a solution is required, but a new bridge is not guaranteed
Safe movement of additional supporters across the River Trent was one of the central issues in the committee’s debate.
Officers said the existing footways on Trent Bridge could not accommodate the extra pedestrian demand identified by the club’s consultants.
Neither highway authority supported the submitted proposal to permanently remove two traffic lanes to provide additional pedestrian space. Officers said that would affect road users throughout the year, including buses needed to support the stadium’s transport strategy.
A new pedestrian bridge was discussed as a possible alternative. However, officers repeatedly stressed that the Section 106 agreement would require an acceptable river-crossing and crowd-flow solution, rather than specifically guaranteeing a bridge.
Before development under the permission begins, Forest must submit a proposed solution and updated crowd-flow assessment for approval.
Preparatory works could then proceed up to slab level. Construction could not progress beyond that stage until the delivery and funding of the agreed solution had been secured.
The expanded capacity could not be used beyond the threshold specified in the agreement until the required measures were delivered. Officers explained that an approved temporary solution could operate for up to 18 months to bridge a gap before the permanent scheme was completed.
Any temporary arrangement would have to be demonstrated to be safe and acceptable in consultation with the highway authorities.
The committee heard that Nottingham City Council was undertaking a feasibility study for a possible pedestrian bridge. A bridge would require its own planning application, including consideration of its location, design and effects on river users.
Conditions covering neighbours and construction
At the meeting, councillors strengthened the requirement relating to a retained semi-detached house adjoining a property due to be demolished.
Following a question from committee chair Councillor Rex Walker, members agreed that treatment of the retained property must be completed before construction proceeds beyond slab level. The earlier wording would have allowed that work to wait until before stadium capacity increased.
The committee also heard concerns from Nottingham Kayak Club about maintaining vehicle access and access to the river. Officers said conditions addressed access arrangements for the boat clubs during construction and their continued use of the river.
The additional community liaison group requirement is intended to give local representatives a route to raise concerns with the transport working group. Its individual membership was not settled at the meeting.
What has actually been approved — and what happens next?
The planning committee has resolved to approve the detailed Peter Taylor Stand and Trent End redevelopment, which would increase capacity to approximately 45,000.
The vote was 10 in favour and one against, with Councillor Sue Mallender opposing the application.
That resolution is subject to completion of the Section 106 legal agreement and the conditions discussed at the meeting, including amendments circulated before the meeting and the additional changes agreed by councillors.
Forest must then meet the relevant requirements before starting development, progressing beyond slab level and bringing the additional stadium capacity into use. The river-crossing solution, its funding and delivery are central to those requirements.
The separate Brian Clough Stand application concerns outline permission for up to another 7,500 seats, taking potential overall capacity to 52,500. Confirmation of its outcome is awaited from the council following the livestream failure.
That application seeks approval of scale only. Access, appearance, layout and landscaping would still require subsequent approval even if outline permission is granted.
The committee’s backing for the first application therefore marks an important step, but does not remove the further approvals and infrastructure requirements needed to deliver the expanded stadium.
