Rushcliffe Council’s planning committee has granted planning permission for the City Ground expansion approved under proposals designed by KSS and landscape architect Planit, which would take Nottingham Forest’s stadium from just over 31,000 seats to 52,500 seats across two phases of construction.
What the City Ground expansion approved by Rushcliffe covers
Full consent has been granted for Phase 1, which includes the replacement of the Peter Taylor Stand and development of the Trent End corners to add around 14,000 seats. According to The Athletic, the Peter Taylor Stand alone will triple in size, growing from 5,000 seats to 15,000 within a structure that would stand 58 metres tall. Outline permission has been granted for the second phase, a reworking of the Brian Clough Stand to complete the full vision.
The approved scheme supersedes earlier proposals drawn up by Benoy to grow the City Ground to around 35,000 capacity, which were first unveiled in 2019. That scheme had secured unanimous approval in June 2025 after a series of delays following an earlier approval in 2022, the same year the club secured promotion back to the top tier of English football.
The scale of the investment is substantial. The BBC has reported an estimated cost of £790 million for the full two-stage scheme, while The Athletic has separately cited a figure of at least £550 million for the works. The two figures reflect different reporting of the programme’s scope, and no single authoritative cost has been confirmed publicly by the club.
If delivered as planned, Football Ground Guide reports the development would make the City Ground the largest football stadium in the East Midlands.
Objections, negotiations and the path to consent
The planning process drew a range of responses. More than 800 supporting comments were received from local people, against just 17 objections. However, Nottinghamshire County Council’s public health and communities safety advisory group raised concerns that ‘the current level of detail and information required to make any decision on safe capacity at the proposed developments is not in place’, according to the planning report to councillors.
The same authority added that it had a major concern regarding ‘congested routes within and around the stadium during normal and emergency egress’. Central West Bridgford Community Association said the application ‘fails to reverse existing unacceptable parking and traffic congestion problems’, according to the same report.
Planning officers confirmed that negotiations had taken place during the consideration of the application to address the adverse impacts and concerns identified. Amendments made to the proposal included the extension of the Event Day Controlled Parking Zone, the commissioning of further survey and modelling work, improvements to the Lady Bay Bridge route, and revisions to the massing of the stands. Officers concluded these changes resulted in ‘a more acceptable scheme and the recommendation to support the grant of planning permission.’
The wider development is expected to accommodate a range of business and commercial activities, with improved facilities for conferences and other events, broadening the City Ground’s operational revenue base beyond matchdays.
The case for rebuilding an ageing ground
Nottingham Forest have played at the City Ground since the late 19th century, famously winning back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980. Despite that history, the stadium has had little substantive work over the past three decades. KSS stated that its ‘ageing infrastructure now limits the club’s ability to meet modern expectations for capacity, hospitality, fan experience, safety and operational efficiency.’
The central London practice also noted that Forest had a season ticket waitlist in excess of 15,000 supporters, ‘highlighting the clear demand for access to live football.’ That waitlist figure underlines the commercial pressure on the club to increase capacity, and gives the phased delivery plan a clear rationale: Phase 1 adds the greatest volume of seats first, with the Brian Clough Stand rework to follow under the outline permission now in place.
With full consent secured for Phase 1 and outline permission granted for Phase 2, the programme now moves towards detailed design development and procurement, with the scale of structural and infrastructure works making this one of the larger stadium regeneration programmes currently advancing through the English football system.
