A draft legal agreement for Nottingham Forest’s proposed redevelopment of the City Ground sets out more than £4.17 million in transport contributions, alongside requirements covering pedestrian safety, parking restrictions, replacement rowing facilities and flood defences.
The Section 106 planning agreement relates to application 25/02123/FUL and has been prepared ahead of a decision by Rushcliffe Borough Council. The draft refers to a Planning Committee meeting on 10 September 2026, but the agreement has not yet been completed or signed and several details remain blank or subject to further agreement.
The parties listed include Nottingham Forest Football Club, Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Rushcliffe Borough Council, the Environment Agency and representatives of Nottingham Rowing Club.
Nottingham City Council owns the freehold of parts of the land, while Forest has a leasehold interest in part of the site. Rushcliffe Borough Council is the local planning authority and Nottinghamshire County Council is responsible for highways, traffic and transport in the area.
Under the draft agreement, Forest would provide £1.75 million towards improvements to bus services on match and event days. The first 25 per cent would have to be paid before the stadium could be used above its existing capacity of 31,712, followed by three further annual instalments.
A further £386,397 would be provided for improvements to park-and-ride sites. This would be paid in ten annual instalments, beginning before the expanded capacity was first used.
The largest single highways contribution would be £990,000 towards event-day controlled parking zones. It would have to be paid to Nottinghamshire County Council at least 12 months before the stadium was first used above its current capacity.
The proposed agreement also includes £424,900 for wider walking and cycling improvements and £100,000 for canalside walking and cycling work. Both payments would be required before development could begin.
Other proposed payments include £120,000 for electronic public transport information displays near the City Ground, £100,000 for temporary or permanent pedestrian wayfinding signs, £50,000 for micromobility infrastructure such as docking points and mobility hubs, and £250,000 for additional transport and highway measures overseen through a new working group.
The stated contributions total £4,171,297 before indexation. Monitoring charges and any additional money subsequently agreed through the transport working group are not included in that figure. Several monitoring fees and other details have yet to be inserted into the draft.
A Transport Working Group would have to be established before development began. It would be chaired by the football club and include Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council.
The group could consult the East Midlands Combined County Authority, public transport operators, Nottingham Express Transit, Lime and the police. Its remit would include traffic flow, Trent Bridge traffic management, event-day signage and measures intended to spread supporters’ arrival and departure times.
The club would also have to prepare a travel plan intended to increase the use of public transport, walking and cycling by supporters, staff and other visitors. This would include promoting city-centre and park-and-ride parking, providing supporter and resident travel information online and offering cycling incentives.
Nottinghamshire County Council would monitor the plan. The draft proposes a fee of £3,000 a year for the first five years, followed by £1,200 a year until the year after construction ends. A separate payment could apply if the club failed to meet an agreed target that was entirely within its control.
Separate schemes would be required to improve pedestrian capacity around Lady Bay Bridge and Trentside North and to provide safe and efficient river-crossing capacity. The stadium could not be used above its existing capacity until the required Lady Bay Bridge and Trentside work had been completed.
Rushcliffe Borough Council would have discretion over the river-crossing and crowd-flow scheme. If it included a new bridge or other crossing infrastructure, the necessary permissions and funding would have to be secured before the scheme could be approved.
The draft allows the council to consider interim measures permitting a limited increase in attendance for a temporary period before the full river-crossing scheme was delivered. Any such arrangement would require separate approval and could be subject to conditions.
The proposals also affect Nottingham Rowing Club’s Britannia Boathouse and SIMS Building. Forest and the other landowners would have to provide either permanent replacement facilities or temporary accommodation followed by a permanent replacement.
The existing boathouse could not be taken out of use and demolished until approved replacement facilities were available. If temporary facilities were used, permanent facilities would normally have to be completed within three years.
The replacements are intended to include boat and equipment storage, access to the River Trent, landing facilities, changing rooms, showers, toilets and a club room. However, the detailed minimum requirements are still shown as a placeholder in the draft agreement.
Flood protection is another condition. Forest would have to submit detailed plans for a defence along the right bank of the River Trent for approval by Rushcliffe Borough Council and the Environment Agency before starting development.
The defence would have to reach a height of at least 25.1 metres above Ordnance Datum and be completed before the development reached practical completion. The club would then be responsible for inspecting, maintaining and repairing it for 40 years.
The Environment Agency would retain access to inspect the defence, including emergency access without prior notice.
The obligations would take effect only if planning permission is granted and the legal agreement is completed. Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Planning Committee must first decide whether to approve the application, while the unfinished figures, replacement rowing facilities and other draft provisions may still be amended before the agreement is signed.
