Posted: 6:00 PM, July 5, 2022
Controversial proposals to allocate 1,000 homes in rare wildlife habitat have been approved after a master planning scheme passed the final hurdle.
The plan, which sets out where 15,970 homes are intended to be built, includes the allocation of 1,000 homes in the Middlewick Ranges, a rare patch of acid grassland currently owned by the Ministry of Defense and previously used as a combat firing range.
Colchester Borough Council voted to formally adopt section two of its local plan at a special meeting last night (July 4), with councilors warning that withdrawing the plan would “sow chaos”, risking higher housing targets and millions of pounds spent on fighting with speculative developments and appeals.
It was also proposed that adoption of the plan would provide some range protection, with 60% of the site to be preserved as open space, possibly as a country park, through a master planning stage.
But the move has angered residents, many of whom use the site for recreational purposes such as exercise or dog walking, and who fear valuable ecological habitat could be lost if houses are built there.
Many came to the meeting to speak against the plan and several cross-party councilors also spoke out against the plans.
Councilor Sue Lissimore said: “Because of the memories I have of playing with my children, of my mother-in-law who grew up playing it, of the older generations who grew up with this site, I cannot vote for a plan that includes fuse.”
Councilor Mark Goatcher said: “We have heard a lot tonight about the ecological importance of the Middlewick Ranges and I cannot support a local plan which has such a wildlife site at its heart.”
Those who spoke in support told the meeting that Middlewick Ranges was just one site in the plan and that the whole borough was at risk of development if the plan was not adopted.
Councilor Denis Willetts said: “Tonight I would suggest that we have a very simple choice before us. We either have to approve the local plan or wreak havoc on this neighborhood.”
Once the plan is adopted, the council will be able to reject Middlewick Ranges planning applications that do not meet a number of conditions it sets out, including the provision of a detailed master plan.
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