Residents living in the shadow of Nottingham Forest’s City Ground say they feel “kept in the dark” over its planned redevelopment.
In 2019, the team first revealed its intentions to build the world-class Peter Taylor Stand and renovate the Brian Clough and Bridgford Stands in the Trentside neighbourhood.
Rushcliffe Borough Council subsequently approved planning permission for the redevelopment of the Peter Taylor stand, the creation of a new public space, a replacement club store, and parking in July 2022.
The authority also approved the outline of a block that might contain up to 170 residential units at the same time.
According to the plans, capacity would have increased to 38,000.
However, development has not yet started due to a number of obstacles, including the Covid epidemic and, most recently, the club and landowner Nottingham City Council’s stalling negotiations.
Residents living in Colwick Road, which leads up to the Bridgford Stand, say they’ve had no visits from club officials except for when anti-terror barriers were installed at the end of the street in January 2022.
Jane, who asked to be referred to by her first name only, has been living in Colwick Road since 1988.
Her semi-detached house sits almost directly under the Bridgford Stand and close to one of a number of vacant properties on the street which are already owned by the club.
The potential impacts on residents living in Colwick Road became more apparent when club revealed a new masterplan in February, several months after the appointment of chairman Tom Cartledge.
The club said it had plans to further extend the Bridgford Stand to cater for an extra 5,000 fans, helping to bring the capacity to 40,000.
Jane recalled the previous redevelopment of the Bridgford Stand in 1992, when work began to increase its capacity to 7,710 people.
Its unusually-shaped roof was a planning requirement to allow sunlight to reach her home, and others, in Colwick Road.
“When they were piling the foundations it made my house shake,” she said.
“It was horrendous.”
Jane said she would support the redevelopment of the stand, but only if the club promised a new stadium entrance would not be created in Colwick Road.
According to documents on the Land Registry, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the club already owns a number of properties on Colwick Road.
They were previously used by the club as accommodation for young players.
Living on Colwick Road since the 1990s, a man and a woman claimed to have felt “kept in the dark” about the intentions.
“The houses used to house the youngsters before Covid, but now they’re just sitting empty,” stated the man, who wished to remain unidentified.
When exactly will Forest become a well-established Premier League team, since they stated they would only perform the Bridgford Stand? Teams are susceptible to disintegrating at any time.
The man claimed he worries losing light in the street if the Bridgford Stand is extended, even though he owns a Forest season ticket.
We would be against that, he replied.
Helen, a different resident, claimed to have been homeless for five years.
“We enjoy being here,” she remarked. “People claim they wouldn’t want to live here, yet we all sat outside in the street and listened when Take That performed here.
However, it is highly ambiguous. I can’t stop thinking about whether [the club] will have to tear down the residences.
Planning permission is now only granted to the club for the renovation of the Peter Taylor stand. The planning authorities, Rushcliffe Borough Council, would have to approve any redevelopment of the Bridgford Stand.
Earlier this year the club sought to negotiate its lease extension to 250 years from landowners Nottingham City Council.
With only 33 years left on the existing lease for the City Ground land, it was seen as critical for the club to realise its plans.
However, negotiations collapsed after the council asked for a larger sum for the lease, reportedly rising from £250,000 a year to around £1m, following Nottingham Forest’s promotion to the Premier League.
The council said at the time it was legally bound to make sure it achieves best value in decisions, particularly after declaring effective bankruptcy and the appointment of Government commissioners in February.
At a meeting on July 16, top city council members decided to sell the freehold for an unknown amount following the resumption of talks between the club and the municipality.
Previously, Cllr Neghat Khan (Lab), the authority’s leader, declared: “That indicates that we have exhausted all efforts inside Nottingham City Council to secure the necessary approvals to finalise the purchase. Everything will now need to be signed by official contracts.
The club claims it “continues to work on the terms for a conditional deal for the purchase of the freehold” in a statement that it says is still valid.
In order to realise their extremely ambitious plans for a significantly larger stadium capacity, world-class hospitality spaces, and associated substantial real estate development in the vicinity of the ground, the club stated that the purchase is “entirely conditional on Nottingham Forest first being granted the relevant permissions.”
Rushcliffe Borough Council leader Cllr Neil Clarke (Con) stated that any new plans “will go through our usual independent planning process” if they materialise.
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