AN ATHLETICS club is set to get a new seating area costing almost £100,000 - after 24 years of waiting.

Southend Athletic Club held a special ceremony to mark the start of works to build a new 249-seat spectator stand at the club’s base at the Garons Park Track, in Garon Park, Southend.

The major milestone was held after planning permission was granted to build the new and long awaited seating area.

The funding of £97,500 came from a variety of places, including Veolia Environmental Trust, Essex and Southend Sport Trust, Southend Athletics Club, Southend Council and a bereavement donation from Albert Shiret.

It will be next to the finish line of the athletics track so it will benefit the athletic club, other groups who use the track and the wider community.

Keith Palmer, chairman of the club, said when he became chairman in 2015 he pledged to get the new stand built.

He said: “It will be somewhere families can comfortably watch and hopefully be inspired by what they see and want to join in themselves.

“The stand will also be somewhere for children to sit and be protected from the elements on school events and somewhere the competitors can base themselves and watch and cheer on other athletes.

“For 24 years, we have just had cold wet grass to sit on, but now we are finally going to get our stand.”

He said that this has been a three-year project so far, spearheaded by himself on behalf of the athletic club, in conjunction with the Fusion management at the Garons Centre, and Southend Council’s culture and leisure department. The council will eventually own the facility.

Mr Palmer told the Echo he found it very humbling how much help, time and support he has been given from all those involved in this project.

He said: “There was clearly no doubt we were all behind the idea but it was just getting there and over the hurdles.”

The club originally received planning permission in November last year but the project encountered difficulties when, in January this year, Southend Council’s Property Services discovered a gas main and electric cable running through the intended site.

The council quickly acted on this, funding the excavation of the area to discover where best to build the stand.

The design was altered to ensure the new stand was more in keeping with the other buildings at the site and the seating area had to be moved due to underground services.

Essex County Council, which will own the stadium, was approached for comment by the Echo but did not respond by the time the paper went to press.