Southend United has always been a community club. The current stadium (Roots Hall) was financed and largely built through the efforts of the supporters.

The club, stadium and other property have been acquired by property developers who plan to build a new stadium and associated footballing assets in support of their application to build 1,300 dwellings alongside the new stadium and on the site of Roots Hall.

The housing development will deliver substantial profits to those developers, but it is only fair that – once development objectives are achieved – the football assets should be returned to community ownership.

We call upon Southend Borough Council to obtain undertakings to ensure that:

-          the new stadium is complete and handed over before development commences at Roots Hall

-          the club will be adequately financially supported during the development period and beyond

-          the footballing assets (stadium, training pitches, academy buildings, soccer domes and associated car parking) will be returned to the community once the development is successfully complete