WORKS are progressing well on a new home for a much-missed seafront seafood eatery.

Bosses behind the new Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant on Southend seafront say groundworks are ongoing ahead of construction of the new building for the business.

Plans for the seafood restaurant rebuild have been in progress for at least five years. The proposals include a two-storey building with outdoor and indoor dining areas.

Contractors from DDG Group have been spotted carrying out the works for the rebuild.

Councillors are pleased to see the progress and say this is reassuring.Tony Cox, leader of the Southend Conservative group, said: “I think it’s good to see this and it is welcome news too.

“I hope it will all go according to plan and it was extremely popular before. I think people will love to see it back soon and get back to enjoying it.

“It’s good to see the investment in the seafront and if we want to see businesses bounce back after Covid we need to do all we can.

“I hope we can see the once loved business back soon on our seafront.”

The building will re-open on the same site, in Western Esplanade opposite Adventure Island.

Work began in 2018 - three years after it was granted planning permission by Southend Council.

But in July 2020 bosses of the family-run business said the pandemic had caused work to stop, and they were unsure when the project would continue to progress.

A spokesman for the business said: “The contractor has returned to site after the Easter break. Groundworks are continuing and discussions taking place with the contractor regarding the rest of the construction program

“Work on piling, ground beams and drainage is currently taking place in preparation for the steelwork to be erected

“Building sites during the groundworks phase are never attractive, but once the frame starts to appear the site becomes tidier.

“The restaurant is designed and approved as a two storey building