Fires blight Middlewick Ranges with site’s future still uncertain

Middlewick Ranges, the wildlife-rich site near Colchester threatened by the potential building of 1,000 houses, has been hit by a series of fires over the summer.
The damage to the site’s valuable habitats and wildlife is potentially huge and of course hugely depressing for those who have been battling so hard to save it from development.
Natural England and Essex Wildlife Trust have been talking with the Ministry of Defence, which owns the Middlewick site, about its management, but sadly there has been no progress towards designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Colchester City Council’s Local Plan is due to go to committee again next month (November) and it is hoped that if procedural hurdles can be overcome the ranges would be removed as a housing allocation.
Should that happen, it is difficult to see how the MoD would have a site viable for sale to a developer.
A big positive is that Middlewick Ranges has been accepted as an Asset of Community Value, which, although not a permanent barrier to development, should raise a bright-red flag to any potential buyers.

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