Hopes Nottingham Forest will 'open pockets' to buy City Ground land soon

The Reds came to an agreement to purchase the freehold for the land, which is owned by the Labour-led council, last year.

It followed a row over the council’s plan to increase rent from £250,000 to around £1m after the club was promoted to the Premier League.

However, the purchase has stalled, owing to the club tabling refreshed plans to further expand its City Ground stadium, which sits next to the River Trent in the Rushcliffe borough.

In December last year, Nottingham Forest tabled ambitious new plans to take capacity to 52,000, just months after earlier proposals were approved by Rushcliffe Council.

The Reds say the plans represent a show of ‘significant investment’ by owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Coun Neghat Khan (Lab), city council leader, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I did go to Forest, they showed the plans, the mayor was there, they did a launch event.

“Forest are just waiting for the planning.

"They originally got planning from Rushcliffe, they have gone for additional planning.

Once they get that back then hopefully they will open their pockets and purchase it off us.

“We’ve been waiting for them- we’ve now been ready for the last two years to do that deal.

“But I’m happy even if they don’t buy it, they can go on a long lease.

WIt is not like the council needs the money in that sense, so if they don’t want to buy it then go on a long lease with us – but the price will be up, it is not where it was.

“But it is good to see the Forest results coming.

“They are going to stay in the Premier League, hopefully, and keep fighting.”

Proposals to redevelop the existing Peter Taylor Stand and build a new apartment block were first given the green light by Rushcliffe Council in July 2022, after an unveiling in 2019.

Plans approved by Rushcliffe Council in June last year were largely the same, but they returned to the council’s planning committee for consideration because of the ‘extended passage of time’ since they were first approved.

These plans would have seen stadium capacity increase to 35,000, but Marinakis has long expressed his hopes for a further expansion, including through the redevelopment of the Bridgford Stand.

The spat over the rent, which surfaced in 2024, almost led to the Reds moving to a new site near Toton.

At the time of negotiations with the city council, Forest had just 33 years on its lease, and it said an extension was needed if it was to invest in the redevelopment of the ground.

After a period of impasse, it was understood that both parties had agreed on the sale of the land to Forest for an undisclosed sum.

However, the club said at the time its final decision to buy the freehold was subject to it securing planning permission.

The new plans were submitted to Rushcliffe earlier in January and the freehold is yet to be sold.

With Forest’s revised vision, the City Ground’s capacity could get up to 52,000, although the initial focus would be on reaching 45,000.

If plans are approved, enabling works could begin this summer, ahead of construction in 2027.