The chair of a kayak club on the River Trent says the club has been left in limbo as plans for the City Ground redevelopment were approved. Plans were approved by Rushcliffe Borough Council on July 28 for the home of Nottingham Forest to be transformed.
The club announced plans to upgrade their stadium, including the complete rebuild of the Peter Taylor Stand, in 2019, and had hoped to complete the work within 15 months, but delays in the planning process meant it was not approved until last month. Its capacity will be increased from 5,000 to 10,000.
Nottingham Kayak Club has its home on the River Trent, by the Trent End stand, and the club has members that will soon compete in the Canoe Marathon World Championships and Canoe Sprint European Championships, along with a big uptake in people trying out taster sessions there. But its chair has said the club has not been told what the redevelopment means for them going forward, and if people will be able to use and access their facility as normal.
READ MORE: Nottingham Forest receive approval for City Ground redevelopment plans
John Handyside, chairman of the club, said: "There hasn't been any liaison with us since the consultation took place. I don't want us to have to close our operations for a period of time.
"I'd much rather be kept in the picture with what's going on, we need to know where we stand. The other thing I'm a little concerned about is when building work starts, will that spill over towards where we are based, as that could affect access and alternative arrangements could have to be made.
"We're already chocka for space in terms of parking - on matchdays, the road is closed meaning no-one can park, and sometimes the days of matches can change, more so now with Forest being in the Premier League and we've been caught out by that before. We could be impacted even further depending on what space is needed for the building works to happen."
Mr Handyside said he would like to meet with their landowners, Nottingham City Council, to discuss the impact it could have on them. The local authority has said it would be happy to meet with Nottingham Kayak Club, but that Nottingham Forest and Rushcliffe Borough Council have the information about the development.
A Rushcliffe Borough Council spokesperson said: "As part of the consultation period on Nottingham Forest's planning application for changes to the City Ground, the boat clubs and other stakeholders affected by the proposals were contacted to respond with their views on the application. The council has no other formal role in this part of the process."
Nottingham Forest was approached for comment. The University of Nottingham boat house falls outside of the developments, and the university confirmed there are no plans to move.
But another club that has been affected is Nottingham Rowing Club, as the former Britannia Rowing Club building, which merged with them in 2006, will be demolished as part of the plans. But Nottingham Rowing Club's bar steward said talks are going well.
Andy Townsend said: "We've been in close consultation with Nottingham Forest about that space, and talks seem to be progressing well. The Britannia has been closed for 12 months, as the club warned us about this and they couldn't say when building work would start.
"The bottom half of it is a boathouse full of rowing boats though, so it can't be demolished until they have a new home. We're keen for the club to provide somewhere new for us to be able to store them.
"For us though, everything is going well at the moment, Rushcliffe Borough Council have been keeping us up-to-date and have regular meetings with us. In terms of access, we haven't got that far in terms of the talks just yet."
Mr Townsend confirmed the venue for hosting members of the Nottingham Forest Supporters' Club before matches will not be affected. Nottingham Forest was contacted for comment.
READ NEXT:
- Hundreds of fines handed out on road near Nottingham Forest's City Ground as new permit scheme proposed
- Concerns over new permit scheme near Nottingham Forest's City Ground
- Why City Ground redevelopment is so important to Nottingham Forest's future
- Nottingham Forest issue statement as major City Ground decision made
- Click here for all the latest City Ground news and views from Nottinghamshire Live
