Essex wait on floodplain meeting

Essex have been granted conditional planning approval for the redevelopment of the County Ground, but it won't be completely signed off until issues surrounding the floodplain around the ground are sorted.

"This is a huge step forward as it confirms the council commitment to the project going ahead," said chief executive David East. "The power to grant permission has been delegated to the director of planning and the application will not need to revert back to the planning committee provided these outstanding matters can be resolved to his satisfaction."

East added that he doesn't believe that the floodplain issue will cause any major problems and the club are organising a meeting with the Environment Agency to deal with the matter.