DOZENS of jobs could be a lost if a civil engineering firm is forced to move having opened without planning permission.

W&H Roads opened a site on Stock Road, Southend in 2016 after operating in Essex for more than 50 years.

However it is feared the site could shut after Southend Council decided to refuse retrospective planning permission, having also refused the application in 2017.

The business owners claim they have been working to address concerns about noise pollution and dust.

Southend Council has decided to take enforcement action and told the firm to stop operations within four months after a development committee meeting yesterday.

A planning officer said: “We are seeking an enforcement notice only to target the operation of the site in an effort to bring the applicant to the table to resolve the issues.

“This isn’t meant to penalise the operator and we are very sensitive when it comes to businesses but in this case, enough is enough.”

Transport director Gary Churn claimed the council did not inform the company that enforcement was being considered.

He said: “After the last application, we’ve gone back to the council to find out more about the recommendations they had given us.

"This has mainly been about a dust assessment they want us to do but they haven’t told us the details.

"There are many different types of dust assessments and they cost a lot of money.

“We want the council to tell us what they want done so that when we submit a fresh planning application we get it right.

"We don’t want to waste money on the wrong one.

“If they were to take enforcement action and that was to make us close our gates, we’ll have between 20 and 25 local people unemployed and the loss of a business that has a turnover of around £4million.”

He added that the company has already spent around £1million on making improvements to the site to mitigate problems.

Planning consultant Mike Dedman said: “This is all a bit unnecessary.”