Boost for Forest's flats plan

ASSESSMENT CONCLUDES THAT SCHEME NEAR CITY GROUND IS FINANCIALLY VIABLE

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

PLANS for 170 waterside flats beside an expanded City Ground - previously dubbed "financially unviable" - have been boosted by a new review.

Although predicted building costs have risen by more than £1 million, the company looking at the plans believes the scheme can still make a profit for Nottingham Forest FC.

The Reds first revealed stadium expansion plans in 2019, the first phase of which involves redeveloping the Peter Taylor Stand and building the block of flats.

The club confirmed in a recent update they were confident a significant hurdle to this first phase had been cleared.

The plans were given conditional approval in 2022 but delays have persisted since then over the Section 106 deal, in which the applicant pays for infrastructure improvements.

Forest said it had now agreed a Section 106 deal and expects Rushcliffe Borough Council to reconsider the plans soon, with work expected to get under way shortly after.

A report published in February by real estate firm Savills cast doubt on the waterside flats element of the plan, describing it as financially unviable.

The firm calculated that at worst, the flats scheme would lose £2.3 million, primarily because of build cost inflation.