New stadium is “90 per cent done”

BLUES chairman Ron Martin has broken his silence to announce that the groundwork towards starting construction of the new stadium at Fossetts Farm is “90 per cent done”.
Of course, fans have heard this type of thing before and will probably not listen until his percentage is well and truly at 100 and the diggers are on site.
His comments to BBC Essex do raise some intriguing questions, particularly regarding the businesses and flats on Victoria Avenue and the deal to purchase Prospects College.
Fans have been under the impression that all these properties need to be secured by Sainsburys and the club in order for work to start on the new ground because Sainsburys need to be sure they have everything in place to build on Roots Hall. The projects have always been linked together and recently the owner of Prospects has come out in the press to say the deal is dead.
Ron Martin says that two tenders have been chosen from four and interviews are being conducted over the next few weeks. But still, the revised plans have not been before Southend Council for rubber stamping – this was expected to happen last month.
Southend Council has also erased the money it had been promised as part of the development from its budget, and businesses that had been looking into being part of the new development, such as Rank Casino, are now looking elsewhere.

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