City Ground expansion plans take new twist amid proposal for permanent Trent Bridge lane changes

Nottingham Forest's plans to expand the City Ground could lead to permanent changes to one of the busiest routes surrounding the stadium.

Fresh proposals would see two lanes on Trent Bridge taken away from traffic to provide additional space for supporters travelling to and from matches.

Trent Bridge lanes could permanently close to traffic outside City Ground

Forest have proposed permanently closing one lane in each direction on Trent Bridge as part of their ongoing City Ground redevelopment plans, according to the Nottingham Post.

The Premier League side is working towards initially increasing capacity from around 30,000 to 45,000, with its wider master plan potentially taking the stadium to 52,500 seats.

That increase would place additional pressure on the routes surrounding the ground, particularly Trent Bridge, where planning documents say there is already “unmanaged conflict” between vehicles and large numbers of pedestrians on matchdays.

Forest had previously explored temporary lane closures for matches, but those proposals were ruled out by highways authorities because of concerns surrounding congestion and safety.

The latest solution would instead permanently reduce the available carriageway by one lane in each direction. The space created would be protected from traffic and repurposed for pedestrians, with supporters accessing it from Trentside North, the underpass beneath Trent Bridge and the pedestrian crossing on London Road.

It could also allow the existing concrete security barriers on the bridge to be removed and replaced with bollards similar to those installed on Westminster Bridge.

Forest's transport plans also include greater use of the Trent Bridge underpass to provide a vehicle-free route towards the stadium, alongside a proposed event shuttle bus connecting the City Ground with Queens Drive Park & Ride.

The changes form part of the club's latest expansion proposals after more ambitious plans were revealed in December 2025.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis' long-term vision includes a substantially redeveloped Peter Taylor Stand reaching 58 metres in height and eventually taking the City Ground's capacity to 52,500.

FGG says: Trent Bridge changes could be crucial to City Ground expansion

Getting tens of thousands of additional supporters safely in and out of the City Ground will be just as important as increasing the capacity itself, and Trent Bridge is clearly one of the biggest challenges Forest must solve.

Permanently sacrificing two traffic lanes could create congestion elsewhere, so the impact will need careful consideration.

However, creating significantly more protected space for pedestrians could make the route safer and better equipped to handle the crowds a 45,000- or eventually 52,500-seat City Ground would attract.