SOUTHEND Airport is eight months late paying rent of at least £162,500 to Southend Council.

Last week – some eight months late – the airport’s operator, Stobart Air, submitted a document used to calculate the rent it owes the council, which owns the freehold to the land the airport sits on.

The airport pays the council £162,500 in rent, or three per cent of its annual turnover – whichever is greater.

But Stobart Air only submitted its “certificate of turnover and profit”, which is used to calculate the rent, last week.

A spokeswoman said: “There has been a delay in the airport submitting its certificate of turnover and profit, due to technical issues when the airport moved to new auditors.

“As soon as we became aware of this issue, we immediately contacted the council to ask for an extension, which it granted.”

Andrew Moring, Southend councillor responsible for corporate services, said: “This isn’t a significant concern because, regardless of when the certificate is produced, the rent is backdated with interest applied to any late payment, so the council’s income won’t be compromised.”