Questions have been raised over the balance between grants to Nottingham City Council and investment in Trent Bridge as Nottingham Forest progresses plans to expand the City Ground.
Trent Bridge is maintained by the Bridge Estate charity, for which Nottingham City Council is the sole trustee. The charity’s stated objectives include maintaining and repairing the bridge and its approaches, providing contingency funding for a possible new crossing of the River Trent, and using remaining income to benefit Nottingham residents through a grant to the council.
Accounts questioned
City councillor Steve Battlemuch, who has campaigned for Trent Bridge to become a visitor attraction featuring a walk of fame, said the bridge needed “love and attention”. The bridge carries about 50,000 vehicles a day and is used by thousands of cricket and football supporters on matchdays.
He has also criticised the appearance of anti-terrorism barriers installed in 2017. His concerns come as plans to expand the City Ground moved forward after approval at a Rushcliffe Borough Council planning meeting in September.
According to the Bridge Estate’s latest accounts, more than £2.1m was allocated in grants to the city council between 2022/23 and 2025/26. Over the same period, £437,349 was spent on property maintenance, including Trent Bridge.
The accounts recorded remaining reserve cash of £268,100 in 2022/23, £316,118 in 2023/24, £326,810 in 2024/25 and £293,156 in 2025/26. A total of £361,804 was transferred to a repairs fund across the four years, including £67,293 in 2022/23, £94,511 in 2023/24 and £100,000 in each of the following two years.
The figures were discussed at a meeting of the council’s Trusts and Charities Committee on 28 September. Councillors were unable to endorse the accounts because officers could not answer questions about how grants, reserves and repairs-fund contributions are calculated.
Call for greater clarity
Cllr Battlemuch said: “My primary concern is understanding exactly what is available from the [Bridge Estate] to be used on bridge repairs and/or to contribute to a new bridge.”
He said the available funding might not be substantial but could contribute to a wider scheme involving new pavements and a walk of fame. He added that the charity’s grants to the council appeared to total about £2m over the four years, compared with roughly £350,000 allocated to reserves and the repairs fund.
“If we don’t have enough money in the fund to allocate to that, some people would say well, how come you’ve not got money available for that but you’ve given £2 million back to the council in a grant over the past four years?” he said. “That’s the question that needs answering.”
Candice Goold, strategic director of finance (operations), said she understood the concerns. She told the committee that stronger financial governance was needed before its December meeting and ahead of preparation of the next financial year’s budget.
“If we don’t have a reserves policy we will bring one,” she said.
Cllr Battlemuch said he did not dispute that the council’s grants would have supported essential projects, but wanted clarity on whether maintaining Trent Bridge, or contributing towards a new bridge, was being treated as a priority comparable with distributing grant funding.
Bridge linked to stadium expansion
Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council have both suggested that Nottingham Forest should fund a new bridge over the River Trent to accommodate an anticipated additional 20,000 supporters if the City Ground expansion is delivered.
The funding questions therefore come as the proposed stadium redevelopment continues to advance, with the future condition and capacity of crossings into the city forming part of the wider debate over infrastructure linked to the project.