A new gym that Nottingham Forest had built at the club’s training ground to mitigate noise complaints from local residents has been granted planning permission by Rushcliffe Borough Council.
The building, at the Nigel Doughty Academy on Gresham Close in West Bridgford, was installed before permission had been granted, at the start of the 2024/25 season.
It was just a month after people who lived on Gresham Close complained about the thumping bass music that came from the club’s previous gym, made out of corrugated tin.
Forest admitted that putting up the new building without the go-ahead from the council was “entirely at their own risk,” knowing they’d have to pull it down if permission was refused.
But their chancing has paid off, with planning officers giving the building the green light on Monday, November 3.
The consent is for a three-year period. Originally, Forest had only applied for a year’s permission, but since the first submission in June 2024, it has upped the timescale, which the council has accepted.
The building is not considered a permanent solution, however, given its “limited aesthetic quality, lack of architectural interest, little contribution to the character of the area and lack of permanence,” a planning officer reported.
The permission will expire on October 31, 2028, at which point the building will have to be removed, unless further permission is granted.
As well as the new gym, the application also included a proposal to put up a two-metre-tall acoustic fence around the perimeter of the training ground to further shield residents from noise.
This was accepted as part of the application.
And while they accepted the application for the gym, Rushcliffe Borough Council has imposed conditions on its use.
It can only be used between 9am and 5pm on weekdays, and between 10am and 6pm on weekends.
The doors and windows of the building must always be kept closed, except for entry and exit, and in the case of emergencies. Air conditioning should be used inside for airflow.
And the PA system, through which music is played, must be “calibrated and restricted” in accordance with a noise impact assessment completed by an “acoustic and air quality consultant”.
Compton Acres councillor Alan Phillips told the council that the new gym had been better than the old gym – but that there were still a few issues.
He said: “I believe this has worked quite successfully after a few teething problems when the gym first opened. The noise issue that has still not been fully addressed though is the noise coming from the pumps by the irrigation silo.
