Local MPs support Nottingham Forest’s City Ground expansion plans
Nadia Whittome, Alex Norris and Lilian Greenwood have backed the proposed redevelopment, which would increase the stadium’s capacity to around 52,500
Nottingham’s MPs have issued a joint statement on the proposed expansion of Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.
Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome, Nottingham North and Kimberley MP Alex Norris and Nottingham South MP Lilian Greenwood published the words online on Thursday, September 3, setting out their stance on the plans.
And in positive news for Forest fans in terms of the expansion getting over the line after years of negotiations and complications, all three said they support the plans, which include boosting the stadium’s capacity from around 31,100 to around 52,500.
The statement says: “We support Nottingham Forest Football Club’s redevelopment plans for the City Ground. This is a historic opportunity to celebrate and preserve our city’s proud heritage as home to a world-famous club, while boosting our local economy and creating well-paid, unionised jobs.
“The case for a bigger stadium has been clear for years: six consecutive seasons of sold-out games have meant that many thousands of local fans cannot see their team play on home turf, including a whole new generation of young supporters.
“Greater capacity will enable NFFC to host major international matches in future tournaments, strengthening our visitor economy by firmly putting Nottingham back on the map as a legendary football city.”
Plans to expand the City Ground date back to 2019, but have only gained real traction since the club was promoted back to the Premier League in 2022.
Planning permission for a previous version of the proposals was granted in summer last year but the club then unveiled a new and improved vision in December.
This summer has seen the plans gain the most momentum they have in a long time, with a new “transport strategy” and “transport plan” setting out how the club expects the stadium upgrade to impact roads in the vicinity, and how the impact could be mitigated, which was submitted to planning authority Rushcliffe Borough Council.
The club has also submitted plans for a new club shop, proposed the permanent closure of two lanes on Trent Bridge to benefit pedestrian spectators on matchdays, agreed to contribute millions towards local infrastructure and confirmed it will rename the Bridgford plaza after a historic player, all within the past month.
Furthermore, a provisional “approval date” for the plans, of September 16, has now been agreed between the club and the council, after Forest originally hoped to have the green light by May so work could begin in summer.
The MPs will hope their statement goes further to reassuring Rushcliffe Borough Council that they are on the same page as everyone else willing the huge project to go ahead.
The statement also made reference to May’s announcement that the East Midlands Combined Authority will promote the area around the City Ground as the “Trent Sports District”, with the new stadium acting as its marquee project.
It says: “We were particularly excited to hear Mayor Claire Ward describe these proposals as integral to a wider development of a Trent Sports District. Sports investment is vital to improving community cohesion and wellbeing.
“We recognise the importance of addressing the transport demands associated with an expanded stadium and trust partners will work together to agree a solution that works for everyone.”