Rushcliffe Council’s planning committee gave the green light to the central London practice’s proposals for the Premier League club’s City Ground.
KSS, working with landscape architect Planit, submitted plans at the end of last year to overhaul the famous stadium, taking its capacity from just over 31,000 to 52,000 in two phases.
Full consent has been granted for the replacement of the Peter Taylor Stand and development of the Trent End corners of the ground to add around 14,000 seats in Phase 1.
Meanwhile, outline permission was given for a reworking of the Brian Clough Stand to complete the vision in a second phase of works.
The approved scheme supersedes plans drawn up by Benoy to grow the City Ground to a capacity of around 35,000, which were first unveiled in 2019.
That scheme secured unanimous approval in June 2025 after delays following an earlier approval in 2022 – the same year the side secured promotion back to the top tier of English football.
A report to councillors on the KSS plans earlier this month said the proposals would accommodate a range of associated business and commercial activities, providing improved facilities for conferences and other events.
Landscape vision
Source: Planit/Design and Access Statement
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.
The 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 report to councillors.
However, more than 800 supporting comments were received from local people, with just 17 objections.
Planning officers said negotiations had taken place during the consideration of the application to address adverse impacts identified by officers and concerns and objections raised in representations.
They added: ‘Amendments have been made to the proposal, including 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, thereby resulting in a more acceptable scheme and the recommendation to support the grant of planning permission.’
Nottingham Forest have played at the City Ground since the late 19th century, famously winning back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980.
The stadium has had little work over the past three decades. KSS said its ‘ageing infrastructure now limits the club’s ability to meet modern expectations for capacity, hospitality, fan experience, safety and operational efficiency’.
The practice added that Forest had a season ticket waitlist in excess of 15,000 supporters, ‘highlighting the clear demand for access to live football’.
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