Plans for nearly 200 waterside flats beside an expanded City Ground that were previously dubbed 'financially unviable' have now been boosted by a new review. Although the company looking at the plans has increased its predicted building costs by more than £1 million, it believes the scheme can still make a profit for Forest. The Reds first revealed ambitious stadium expansion plans in 2019, the first phase of which involves the redevelopment of the Peter Taylor Stand and the building of a block of 170 flats. The club confirmed in a recent update they were confident a significant hurdle to this first phase had been cleared. The plans were first given conditional approval in 2022 but delays have persisted since then over the Section 106 deal - part of a planning agreement in which the applicant pays for local infrastructure improvements. Forest said it has 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. In a report published on February 5 by Savills, the leading real estate firm cast doubt on a key element of the scheme. The company said the waterside flats element of the plan was financially unviable after considering three separate scenarios. The firm calculated that the worst-case scenario would involve the flats scheme producing a financial loss of £2.3 million, with Savills primarily citing build cost inflation. Another study has now been carried out which has concluded that the flats would in fact be viable. The consultancy firm CP Viability (CPV) produced an initial assessment, in which it concluded that the flats would be profitable, even with Section 106 contributions worth £1.4 million. Savills then challenged this approach, with CPV saying Savills "argued that what we have calculated as being the block construction cost is incorrect and too low for a scheme of this nature and scale". CPV has therefore produced a new assessment which adjusts its projected £188 construction cost per square foot to £197. The company says the cost increase still renders the flats plan financially viable, if far less Section 106 money is put up. Their assessment says: "With the amended build costs, the scheme is viable and able to provide a S106 contribution. However, the level of S106 contribution has reduced significantly from £1,400,000 to £175,000. "Relatively small adjustments to key assumptions such as sales values and build costs can have a significant impact on the overall outcome. In this case, what appears to be a relatively small adjustment in the build costs is in reality a significant adjustment in capital terms, increasing the overall build costs by in excess of £1.2 million. "This therefore significantly impacts on the level of contributions that the scheme can provide. In summary, and having revisited the evidence, we accept that our original block construction cost allowance was too low and required an uplift. "However, we maintain that Savills' suggested block construction cost allowances in excess of £200 per square foot is too high. In our view, our allowance is appropriate and a reasonable compromise position. With this applied, the scheme is able to viably support a S106 contribution of £175,000." Recently published documents confirm that Nottingham City Council has accepted a £150,000 contribution towards pedestrian crossing upgrades on the London Road and Cattle Market Road junction. Getting the Peter Taylor Stand and waterside flats planning application approved will be crucial in the sale of the City Ground to Forest being cleared. Nottingham City Council revealed a deal in the summer of 2024 under which Nottingham Forest will buy the City Ground's freehold from the authority, which currently owns the land. Although the council has approved the terms of the deal, Forest have previously said: "Any decision to purchase the freehold will be entirely conditional on Nottingham Forest first being granted the relevant permissions that will allow us to realise our hugely ambitious plans." Agreement will have to be reached soon, given that Rushcliffe Borough Council's permission for the Peter Taylor Stand work is conditional on development beginning within three years. Nottingham Forest was contacted for further comment. The planning application, discussed by the borough council's planning committee in July 2022, sought full planning permission for the redevelopment of the Peter Taylor Stand, and outline planning permission for 170 flats. Outline permission means more detailed plans for the residential element would have to be submitted in the future - typically centred on the designs and access arrangements of the project.