DETAILS of the deal to rescue Southend United have yet to be rubber stamped but it spells the end of a new stadium at Fossetts Farm.

It is believed the agreement between a consortium led by Australian businessman Justin Rees, the club and Southend Council will see the club remaining at Roots Hall.

It is also thought the 500 homes due to be built on the Roots Hall site will now be transferred to Fossetts Farm where club chairman Ron Martin once hoped to build a 21,000-seater for the club.

The homes were once intended to finance the ambitious stadium plans.

The stadium was later down-sized to a 16,226-seater and plans for a hotel were dropped but the scheme would have eventually seen the creation of hundreds of new homes.

With the Fossetts Farm stadium unlikely now to be going ahead, the number of much-needed homes for the city could be set to increase.

The crumbling stadium will need a major overhaul or a rebuild if it is to survive and take the club forward. In recent months the council has had to step in to advice the club how to maintain safety standards to ensure it could continue to hold matches there.

Part of the deal is expected to include arrangements to bring the stadium up to scratch.

Southend Council was engaged in and supportive for both the Roots Hall and Fossetts Farm plans but wasn’t involved financially and its latest involvement remains the same, with any plans having to go through cabinet and the council's planning system.