Tonight Rochford District Council passed the application from Southend United by 20 votes to 8. However, they included a number of conditions . One was that the floodlights from the all-weather training pitch should only be used until 10 pm for three nights per week, instead of the six nights per week that the club wanted.
It was a dramatic evening , with hundreds of supporters listening, cheering and boooing outside. Full story tomorrow night.
In the meantime, comments from fans here and from Echo readers here.
This is fantastic news for the whole area. Rochford Council, you have done us all proud!