Nottingham Forest Submit New Plans to Revamp Unused Land Linked to Huge City Ground Redevelopment

Nottingham Forest have taken another step in their long-term plans to transform the area around the City Ground after submitting proposals for a new three-storey club shop on a vacant site in West Bridgford.

The application concerns unused land at 13-17 Radcliffe Road, at the junction with Pavilion Road and directly opposite Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. The site was previously occupied by a petrol station, but that use has ended and the former buildings have been removed. According to the latest planning report, remediation work has already been carried out, while much of the site is currently covered by concrete and tarmac.

Forest want to bring the site back into active use as part of a wider programme of investment around their historic home. The proposed building would replace the club’s existing shop further along Pavilion Road and would provide a more substantial retail and supporter-facing facility close to the City Ground.

The plans call for a three-storey building designed around modern retail requirements. Customers would enter from Radcliffe Road, with level and gently sloping access intended to make the shop easier to reach. A passenger lift would serve all three floors, while escalators would connect the two retail floors. The proposals also include accessible toilets and fitting facilities.

The application is significant because it gives another indication of how Nottingham Forest’s redevelopment ambitions extend beyond the stadium itself. The club’s main City Ground project has already grown considerably from the scheme first proposed several years ago.

Forest submitted major redevelopment plans in late 2025 and early 2026 that aim to take the stadium’s capacity beyond 50,000. The current proposals focus on expanding the Peter Taylor Stand and the Trent End corners, with a further outline proposal for redevelopment of the Brian Clough Stand. The overall scheme has been described as a long-term transformation of the club’s historic home.

Updated documents submitted during 2026 have also expanded the development footprint and introduced further measures dealing with pedestrian movement, transport, flood protection and the areas surrounding the stadium. The revised scheme covers about six hectares, compared with roughly 5.66 hectares in the earlier submission.

Against that background, the proposed club shop may appear relatively modest, but its location makes it an important part of the wider picture. Rather than leaving a prominent vacant site close to the stadium and Trent Bridge, Forest are seeking to turn it into a permanent club facility that can serve supporters throughout the year.

The development could also help create a clearer connection between the club’s commercial activity and the wider stadium district. Matchdays already bring large numbers of supporters into West Bridgford, while the major redevelopment of the City Ground is expected to increase the number of visitors using the area. A larger, purpose-built retail facility could therefore become part of the wider supporter experience as the stadium project progresses.

The proposal also illustrates the scale of change taking place around the City Ground. In recent months, Forest have submitted other applications connected with the redevelopment, including plans involving vacant properties and enabling works around the stadium. Three houses on Rosebery Avenue and Colwick Road, which are owned by the club and have vacant possession, have been included in separate proposals for demolition as part of preparations linked to the wider scheme.

Forest’s stadium ambitions have developed rapidly since the club returned to the Premier League. Earlier redevelopment plans concentrated on replacing the Peter Taylor Stand and taking capacity to around 35,000. That permission was approved by Rushcliffe Borough Council in 2025. The club subsequently presented a much more ambitious vision, reflecting its growth on the pitch and its desire to establish a stadium capable of supporting its long-term ambitions.

The latest stadium proposals would eventually take capacity to approximately 52,500, with the initial phase concentrating on the Peter Taylor Stand and Trent End before a later redevelopment of the Brian Clough Stand. The club has said the investment is intended to modernise facilities, improve the matchday experience and provide a stadium capable of serving supporters for generations.

For local residents, however, the continued expansion of the City Ground project will inevitably bring questions about traffic, access, construction activity and the effect on the surrounding neighbourhood. Those issues have been part of the consultation and planning process, with updated proposals responding to concerns about crowd movement, transport and flood safety.

The proposed club shop is therefore more than a standalone retail application. It forms part of a broader attempt by Nottingham Forest to reshape land around one of English football’s most recognisable grounds. If approved, the vacant Radcliffe Road site would move from being a largely unused, hard-surfaced plot to becoming a prominent new Forest facility.

The next stage will be the planning process, during which Rushcliffe Borough Council will consider the details of the application and any representations made by residents or other interested parties. The club’s wider stadium proposals are also continuing through the planning process, meaning the coming months could prove important for the future appearance of the City Ground and its surrounding area.

For Forest supporters, the latest application provides another visible sign that the redevelopment plans are moving beyond concept drawings and into a series of practical projects. While the stadium remains the centrepiece, the development of nearby land and facilities could ultimately play an important role in creating a larger and more integrated home for the club.

With the City Ground redevelopment targeting a capacity of more than 50,000 and new facilities planned around the site, Nottingham Forest’s ambition is increasingly being reflected not only in the size of the proposed stadium but also in the wider transformation of the area. The vacant Radcliffe Road plot could soon become one of the smaller, but highly visible, pieces of that much larger redevelopment story.