Lady Bay Bridge and Scarrington Road are set to close around City Ground events from Saturday 22 August under a county order running to 23 May 2027. The diversion, the dates and the first two games.

Lady Bay Bridge and the whole of Scarrington Road are set to close to traffic around events at the City Ground from Saturday 22 August 2026 until Sunday 23 May 2027, under a temporary order Nottinghamshire County Council has advertised for the new football season. The first day it applies is Nottingham Forest’s opening home game of the Premier League season, against Leeds United, kick-off 3pm.

The notice, published on 10 August, says the county council “intends not less than seven days from the date of this Notice to make an Order” under section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. That wording matters: at the time of writing this is a proposed order, R26-194, not yet a made one. Its stated purpose is “to enable Nottingham Forest Football Club to ensure public safety for events at the City Ground”.

What the order closes

Three lengths of road are covered:

  • Lady Bay Bridge, West Bridgford, from the borough boundary on the bridge to its junction with Radcliffe Road.
  • Lady Bay Bridge, Nottingham, from its junction with Meadow Lane to the borough boundary on the bridge. In other words, the entire crossing, both the Rushcliffe and the city halves.
  • Scarrington Road, West Bridgford, “for its entire length”.

Existing parking restrictions on those roads are suspended as needed while the order is in effect, and the restrictions “shall only be in effect when the signs are in place”. So the bridge is not shut for nine months; it is closable, on event days, for as long as the signs are out. The order can run for a maximum of 18 months, but the intended period is 22 August 2026 to 23 May 2027 inclusive.

Key facts panel: Lady Bay Bridge and Scarrington Road matchday closure order R26-194. Notice published 10 August 2026; proposed order in force from Saturday 22 August 2026, Forest v Leeds, 3pm; Tuesday 25 August 2026, Forest v Leeds in the League Cup, 8pm; intended end Sunday 23 May 2027. Diversion via Radcliffe Road, Trent Bridge, London Road, Fisher Gate, Pennyfoot Street, Manvers Street and Meadow Lane.
Graphic by West Bridgford Live. Source: Nottinghamshire County Council notice R26-194; BBC Sport fixtures.

The signed diversion

The alternative route in the notice sends traffic over Trent Bridge instead:

  • Northbound (into Nottingham): A6520 Radcliffe Road, A60 Trent Bridge, A60 London Road, A612 Fisher Gate, A612 Pennyfoot Street, A612 Manvers Street, A6011 Meadow Lane.
  • Southbound (into West Bridgford): A6011 Meadow Lane, A612 Manvers Street, A612 Pennyfoot Street, Lower Parliament Street, A60 London Road, A60 Trent Bridge, A6520 Radcliffe Road.

That is the only other road crossing of the Trent serving the town, which is why a closure at Lady Bay is felt so quickly on Radcliffe Road and at the Trent Bridge lights. Our roadworks and travel page explains who runs which road around the two bridges.

The first two matchdays

According to BBC Sport’s fixture list, Forest’s first two home games fall inside the first four days of the order:

  • Saturday 22 August, 3pm: Nottingham Forest v Leeds United, Premier League.
  • Tuesday 25 August, 8pm: Nottingham Forest v Leeds United, League Cup second round.

The following weekend, Saturday 29 August, Forest are away at Liverpool, so the bridge should be unaffected by football that day.

How this has worked before

Closures of Lady Bay Bridge at the end of home matches are not new. In January 2025 Nottingham City Council’s roadworks bulletin listed “brief closures of Lady Bay Bridge to coincide with upcoming football fixtures”, announced by the county council, with access to the bridge shut at the end of home games: 4.45pm to 5.15pm for the Southampton match on 19 January 2025 and 9.30pm to 10.20pm for Manchester United on 1 April 2025. Those windows came from the city council’s bulletin at the time; the new notice itself gives no times of day, only that the closure applies “when the signs are in place”. Whether the same short windows will be used this season is not stated in the notice. Check the signs and the county’s own channels on the day.

What it means for you

  • If you drive across Lady Bay Bridge on Saturday afternoons, plan for the closure to bite around kick-off and full-time on 22 August and again on the evening of 25 August. The diversion over Trent Bridge adds the length of the London Road loop to your journey.
  • Scarrington Road residents are inside the closed length for its whole extent, and the usual parking rules on the road can be suspended while the signs are out.
  • Trent Bridge stays open under this order, though it carries the diverted traffic. Anyone with a choice of crossing on matchdays should expect both to be slow.
  • The order is proposed, not made. The county said on 10 August that it would make the order no sooner than seven days later; we will update this story when the made order is published. Search your own street on the Public Notice Portal for the latest.
  • The tram is unaffected. West Bridgford has no station, but NET line 2 runs from Compton Acres, Ruddington Lane and Wilford Lane into the city; see our trains and travel page.
  • Carnarvon Road, between Melton Road and Exchange Road, is also closed for resurfacing until 31 August, and Park Avenue has a waiting ban from 17 August. Both are on our roadworks and travel page, which we have refreshed today.