Southend United: Long awaited football stadium can move forward

The original planning application for the stadium at Fossetts Farm was submitted in May 2017

A new stadium for Southend United has moved forward after council lawyers signed off on the planning application.

Plans for a 21,000-seat ground at Fossetts Farm were first submitted in 2017.

The plan was approved by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council last year but legal agreements were needed because of the size of the application.

The council said with the legal terms finalised it was "all down to the club now".

The state-of-the-art stadium complex off Eastern Avenue, Southend, will eventually have 1,461 homes, a107-bedroom hotel, club shop, a restaurant and conference space, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Southend United was asked to give an update to fans on when the scheme would move forward but the club did not respond.

The new stadium is expected to bring £500m to the town and create more than 1,000 new jobs.

It is being backed with £30million from Homes England.

The current Roots Hall ground will be turned into 502 new homes for rent once the football club has relocated.

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