Rushcliffe Borough Council has granted temporary planning permission for Nottingham Forest to replace existing changing rooms at its sports academy in West Bridgford with a new two-storey building.
The application, submitted by Nottingham Forest Football Club, relates to the club’s academy site off Gresham Close, in the Compton Acres ward. The site is a former local authority facility and is now used as a training academy, with grass pitches, parking, indoor and outdoor all-weather facilities and changing rooms.
The approved scheme allows the club to replace the existing single-storey changing facilities with a two-storey temporary building. The ground floor will be used for changing rooms, while the first floor will provide office, classroom and breakout space relocated from the main academy building.
Council officers said the proposed layout would provide a greater number of smaller changing rooms than the existing facilities. The report says this is required for safeguarding different age groups using the site, with each changing room providing appropriate toilet and shower facilities.
The building has been approved on a temporary basis only and must be removed by 15 May 2031 unless a further planning permission is granted. Rushcliffe Borough Council said the temporary permission would allow the authority to review the situation, as the building is not considered suitable as a permanent form of development.
The planning report says the replacement building will have a larger footprint than the existing changing rooms and will be two storeys high with a pitched roof. Officers said the design is functional and has limited architectural interest, but considered it acceptable for a temporary period because it would provide interim accommodation while a longer-term solution is progressed.
The academy site has been the subject of several previous planning applications over a number of years. These include temporary and permanent buildings, extensions to existing team facilities, parking changes and boundary treatments. Previous permissions include a two-storey academy facilities scheme in 2021, extensions to the first-team building in 2023, and a temporary three-year consent for a single-storey gym building in 2024.
Flood risk was one of the main issues considered during the application. The site is within Flood Zone 3, and the Environment Agency initially objected because it considered the submitted flood risk assessment did not set out adequate mitigation measures for the lifetime of the development.
The applicant later provided further clarification, including confirmation that the building would be temporary and that the development would be classed as a less vulnerable leisure use. The Environment Agency then withdrew its objection, subject to a condition requiring the development to follow the flood risk assessment and for finished floor levels to be set no lower than 24.85 metres above Ordnance Datum.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s highways team raised no objection. The report says the building will replace existing facilities and that office, classroom and breakout spaces will be relocated from the main building rather than creating additional uses. Officers concluded that the scheme would not lead to a material increase in parking demand or have a material impact on the public highway.
The report acknowledges that the academy site experiences increased parking demand at weekends, particularly when matches are held on the training pitches. However, officers said that during normal day-to-day operations the site provides sufficient on-site parking and does not usually result in overspill parking causing harm to nearby residential amenity.
The nearest homes on Gresham Close are around 140 metres from the proposed building, and officers said the first-team training building and existing boundary planting would provide screening. The council concluded that the proposal would not cause unacceptable overlooking, overbearing impact, overshadowing or additional noise for nearby residents.
Environmental Health officers raised no objection but recommended conditions covering any externally mounted plant, delivery and waste collection times, and external lighting. Deliveries and waste collections will be restricted to 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm on Saturdays, and will not be permitted on Sundays or bank holidays.
The council also imposed a condition preventing external staircases from being used as balconies or congregation areas. Doors giving access to the ground and first-floor accommodation must be used only for access and egress and must not be left open.
