A HUGE blow has been dealt to Middlewick campaigners as a senior Ministry of Defence boss has refused to withdraw from selling the site.

Middlewick Ranges, which is owned by the MoD, is expected to be sold for development next year when firing operations move to Fingringhoe.

If the MoD’s plans are successful, it will be kept in Colchester’s Local Plan and 1,000 houses built on the site which has been used as a firing range for more than 160 years.

But the Local Plan has yet to be signed off, and opponents are urging Colchester Council not to allow it to proceed unless all development at Middlewick is deleted.

Colchester MP Will Quince met with Minister for Defence Procurement, Jeremy Quinn, on Wednesday to outline his opposition to the sale and proposed building on the Wick.

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But he stated: “The frustrating reality is the MoD will not simply withdraw the site from its disposal list.”

However, fresh hope has emerged as Mr Quince says he raised concerns about the rare lowland acid grassland which would be lost if the sale and development were to go ahead.

The grassland is a UK biodiversity action plan habitat which the MP believes is the best hope of making the land unviable for development.

He added stipulation made to the Local Plan meant a management company would need to be set up to look at the creation of acid grassland in another area in mitigation for up to 30 years.

Mr Quince added: “I impressed on the minister the considerable risk this poses to the MoD given such a recreation of rare acid grassland on a site has never been done and is only possible in theory.

“The MoD would, as a result, have a 30 year liability based on an unproven concept.

“It is my belief and hope that a developer would not be willing to take this long-term risk which in effect would make the value of the land negligible and in effect, make any sale of the land unlikely.

“The fight to save the Wick continues and residents can rest assured I am 100 per cent with them and leading this fight.”