Blues stadium move ‘is closer than ever’

The club’s long-awaited move from Root Hall to Fossetts Farm has been in the pipeline for years.

But Rob Tinlin has now told the Echo the scheme, backed by real estate firm British Land and club chairman Ron Martin, could materialise soon. But he also warned the town’s main High Street must be factored into any plan.

He said: “I believe it’s the closest I’ve ever seen it. Ron’s got a couple of credible development partners. It’s a threat and an opportunity because the scale of the retail and leisure development that British Land wants to put in to help fund the new stadium and this has the potential to destabilise the town centre. I’ve had long discussions with British Land about this.”

Fossetts Farm development would include the stadium, 35 shops, a 12-screen Cineworld, ten restaurants, and 240 apartments in three tower blocks.

Mr Tinlin continued: “I think every high street in the country is facing challenges because shopping and retailing is changing. People go into Next to look at the garments then they order them online.”

Mr Tinlin said he believed British Land would bear in mind the impact of the scheme on other parts of the town, like the High Street. He said: “If they do develop they are not just going to come in, build and sell, they are going to come in build, rent then manage Fossetts. So they will be in Southend for the long run, and it’s not in their interests to get accused of damaging the town centre. I think the trick is we work alongside them.”

Mr Tinlin firmly believes there are exciting times ahead for Southend. He said: “You can either run yelling that the sky’s falling or you can say right how do we manage this so we get a really nice up market shopping experience on the edge of town so that people come to Southend to shop. “

Mr Tinlin said Fossetts would be that shopping experience to rival Westfield, Stratford but at the same time the High Street could offer a richer experience with a mix of businesses and shops.

He added: “If you look at the High Street we’ve got the big multiples, but they are all small branches at the moment.

“The trick will be trying to turn this into something different.

“I think the High Street needs to move from being a pure retail street to being a leisure, commerce, culture and retail area.

“That’s going to take a lot of work, and a lot of money I suspect but all that’s really exciting.” Blues chairman Ron Martin told the Echo he would prefer not to comment at this time.