Nottingham Forest have reiterated their commitment to redeveloping the City Ground as they enter “the next phase of the process”.
The club first announced their plans to update the stadium and increase capacity in 2019. Last July, the project was given approval by Rushcliffe Borough Council’s planning committee.
At the time, a committee report outlined a proposed timeline which stated the intention to complete the rebuilding of the Peter Taylor Stand by the end of the 2023/24 season. The work will now not start this summer, but Forest have made clear they remain committed to the project and to improving facilities at the Nigel Doughty Academy.
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A strategic report in the latest set of accounts, for the year ending June 2022, states: “Despite progress being severely hampered during covid, the club continued to invest significant amounts of time and money in the redevelopment project at the City Ground. In July 2022 a significant milestone was reached, with Rushcliffe Borough Council upholding the recommendation of its planning officers to recommend approval of the club’s planning application.
“This represents the culmination of three years of dedicated work by the club and its advisers. The club will now move on to the next phase of the process, having detailed discussions with its advisers and partners, in order to satisfy the conditions set out in the recommendation to grant the planning permission and with a view to finally deliver the development.”
The report continues: “The club has continued to invest in the Academy structure following the achievement of Category 1 status last season. Further enhancements to the coaching, education and welfare structure are active and ongoing into the 2021/22 season. The club have been granted planning permission for further development of the facilities at the Academy to secure our future success in this area.”
In a key feature of the project, Forest want to knock down and rebuild the Peter Taylor Stand, increasing it to a capacity of 10,000 seats, up from its current 5,000. Among the conditions set out for the planning approval is the demolition and relocation of boathouses by the River Trent.
A club spokesperson said earlier this month: "The club’s objective is to secure final permission once the necessary conditions have been satisfied. Any suggestion that this is not the case or that the club is seeking to abort the process is 100 percent false.
"The (planning) resolution contained a number of specific conditions which need to be satisfied before final permission is obtained, which will enable work to commence. The club is currently working through those conditions with its adviser and the numerous third parties involved.
"These conditions involve complex discussions and negotiations, many of which are necessarily conducted on a without prejudice basis. In the circumstances, the club is not in a position to comment on them and will not do so. The process of satisfying the conditions necessarily takes time."
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