SOUTHEND Council is set to wade into the row which is threatening to derail Southend’s United’s stadium move.

The council is on the verge of using a compulsory purchase order to buy the old Prospects College site, in Fairfax Drive, which is crucial to the Blues’ dreams of building a new home at Fossetts Farm.

Ron Martin, the club’s chairman, claims a stalemate between the college and Sainsbury’s, which will develop the college site as part of a new superstore, could jeopardise the whole plan.

However, Prospects bosses say they are willing to sell, but warned the struggle could end up in the High Court, if the council insists on forcing their hand.

Neil Bates, the Prospects chief executive, said: “We will be taking specialist advice now.

“Whether we oppose the CPO will largely depend on the price we are offered for the site, but we cannot rule anything out at the moment.

“But in my mind, the CPO is completely unnecessary. We are happy to sell to Sainsbury’s and the CPO will only delay everything by at least two years.”

The Prospects building is at the heart of Sainsbury’s plans to redevelop the Blues’ Roots Hall ground as a huge store.

In return for the land, the supermarket chain has agreed to bankroll the majority of the new stadium at Fossetts Farm.

The council’s leadership has repeatedly backed the Blues’ bid for a new home, including agreeing in principle to CPOs to buy the rest of the Roots Hall site in 2009.

In a report for councillors, John Williams, the council’s head of legal services, said Mr Martin had requested those powers should now be extended to cover the college building because official talks had ground to a halt.

He said: “Mr Martin has confirmed to the council that this impasse represents a significant risk to the delivery of the development of the Roots Hall site and also the development of the Fossetts Farm site, since the two schemes are inextricably linked.”

If council leaders agree to the request when they meet next Thursday, Prospects will be forced to sell the building to the council – with Sainsbury’s stumping up the cash – at market value. The only way to challenge the CPO would be in the High Court.

Mr Bates said he wanted to avoid that, if possible, and criticised the council for apparently siding with Mr Martin and Sainsbury’s.

He said: “We are at a loss to understand why the council thinks it necessary to act against a willing seller and in favour of an unwilling buyer.

“Sainsbury’s can buy our site at any time on the terms previously agreed. We want this development to go ahead, but we do not want to be held to ransom.”