The saga around a new Southend United stadium had dragged on for more than half a decade by the time the club crapped their plans to move to Fossetts Farm in 2024, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that the turnaround has bolstered the Seasiders financially.
Instead of changing grounds, Southend are staying at Roots Hall, and amidst a spate of new investment, the club are in the process of redeveloping their stadium. An agreement with Thames Plaza through Southend-on-Sea City Council will see £12m put towards the project, while Savills have already been announced to be advising the Seasiders.
Read on as Football Ground Guide covers all you need to know about the scrapped plans for a new Southend United stadium.
Why have Southend scrapped new stadium plans?
The story has been ongoing since 2017, when the club agreed with Southend-on-Sea City Council to build 500 residential homes at Roots Hall, and extra housing on the site of the proposed new stadium. The income from these developments was supposed to provide the necessary finance to build the new stadium, which was initially planned to hold 21,000 fans.
The club's takeover by the COSU consortium was completed in July 2024. While this was good news for Southend United as a football club, it meant that plans for a new stadium at Fossetts Farm were scrapped.
However, the project at the site will continue, though its main focus will be on the construction of 800 new homes, starting in 2026.
How the new stadium may have looked
Southend United's financial problems linked to stadium U-turn
Those ambitious ideas were then downgraded to a 16,226-seater stadium, with plans for a hotel also dropped, but the new report approved by the Council will see hundreds of homes built on the Fossetts Farm site instead.
This emergency ruling is thought to have saved the club from financial ruin, as Southend United's new stadium plans were blocking Australian IT millionaire Justin Rees's proposed takeover of the club.
While full details were not immediately agreed upon, the Council decision allowed room for Roots Hall to be redeveloped instead.
“I think we were all in danger of not just seeing the demise of the club, but also much-needed housing that had been promised over a period of time as well,” Southend-On-Sea Council Leader Tony Cox told the BBC.
“I am hopeful the next phase of this will go well, and we will come back with something we can all agree on, move forward, and allow the club to have a successful and sustainable future.”
Roots Hall will be rocking once more next season 🙌
The deadline to renew your season ticket for 2025/26 is coming up next week 🔜
— Southend United FC (@SUFCRootsHall) June 26, 2025
The new Stadium plans at Fossetts Farm before they were scrapped
What will happen to Roots Hall now?
In March 2025, Southend-on-Sea City Council agreed a deal with Thames Plaza to enable the construction of new homes at Fossetts Farm. The deal is not only significant for the local area but also for Southend United as the deal has unlocked £12m of funding to go towards the development of Roots Hall. Roots Hall has been the home ground for Southend since 1955.
With that, the club can now put the Fossett's Farm development behind them and focus on upgrading what they currently have.
Notable upgrades expected at Roots Hall under the new ownership include:
- Replacement of floodlights with LEDs.
- Installation of a new video scoreboard, increased bar capacity and new external signage.
- Introduction of a new Fan Zone outside Roots Hall.
- Opening up Northern Bank to accommodate more home fans.
Leader of the council, Daniel Cowan, said:
“I am delighted to confirm that the changes we agreed between the Council and Thames Plaza have passed due diligence and that the deal has been signed.
“Securing investment of this magnitude into the delivery of housing for our communities and in turn, big improvements for Roots Hall, is a huge vote of confidence in the city and demonstrates our commitment to driving change and delivering much-needed, high-quality market and affordable homes to rent.”
In December 2025, Southend United chairman Justin Rees urged fans to be patient while plans continued to be made regarding the improvement of the club's stadium.
On March 6, 2026, real estate services company Savills announced that its Chelmsford development team had been advising Southend on their options in regards to the upgrades, while the Savills Hotels team had been discussing whether the ground had potential to be redeveloped with hotel use in mind.
Senior surveyor Ailsa Plummer, who has been working on the project with director Andy Redman, said:
“This is an exciting step forward for the football club – helping to deliver its goals of moving towards sustainability, improving the matchday experience and making a difference to the local community,
“It’s a great project to be part of – supporting regional economic growth – and we hope to remain part of the process, helping the club in its decision making and enabling conversations, through to submission of a planning application and beyond.”
