Southend Move Forward On New Stadium Plans - 31/01/2007

Southend have moved closer to getting their proposed new 22,000-seater stadium. Southend Borough Council voted 13-0 for the £25m Fossets Farm scheme. This was despite a recommendation by planning officers that the application be rejected or at least that a vote be delayed until the club addressed issues including the impact on local shops and transport. Then, Rochford District Council backed plans for a Temple Farm training ground, overturning the advice of officials who tried to reject it on environmental grounds. If Local Government minister Ruth Kelly confirms the plans, and does not order a public inquiry, the club could leave Roots Hall in late 2008 and 2009. Southend councillors voted against plans for 400 flats and a superstore at Roots Hall, necessary to help fund the stadium, but is hoped that a compromise proposal can be agreed. Southend originally played at Roots Hall, but then moved to the Kursaal where they played against the background of an amusement park. They returned to Roots Hall in 1955, but plans to move to a less cramped site have been under discussion since the 1980s.