A multi-million pound contribution due to Southend Borough Council (SBC) from the deal that will see a new stadium built at Fossetts Farm will not feature in its budget for 2011-12.

The local authority is to receive £7.7m in an agreement with Southend United Football Club, but finance chiefs have now removed the development from SBC's capital programme.

According to the Echo, SBC's decision to remove the Fossetts Farm project from the 2011-12 budget means that it is unlikely work will start on-site in the next seven months.

A report put before the council's cabinet said the scheme had been removed from the budget "until the certainty of developer contributions can be ascertained".

Details: www.echo-news.co.uk