A CRUCIAL report which could have been a major barrier to building on Middlewick Ranges may never have been seen by councillors, it has been claimed.

A Freedom of Information request filed by campaigner Richard Martin has found an ecological assessment of the land, which was carried out by Peter Brett Associates in 2017, gave the area a high biodiversity score because of the high proportion of acid grassland.

A second report, carried out by Stantec at the request of the Ministry of Defence and published in 2020, gave the Middlewick Ranges a lower biodiversity score because acid grassland was classified as arable land.

Vote – councillors passed a motion adopting the Local Plan in July 2022Vote – councillors passed a motion adopting the Local Plan in July 2022 (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

Mr Martin, who is a member of the Save the Middlewick Ranges group, argues the second report misclassified the land and manipulated the biodiversity score to strengthen the case for adopting the land into the Local Plan.

The Local Plan was eventually voted through by councillors in July 2022, effectively guaranteeing the future development of the land.

Councillors voting in favour of adopting the plan argued it would give Colchester Council a degree of control over the development and hold developers accountable.

But the latest revelation has led to calls for Colchester Council to investigate whether officers working for the authority knew about the original 2017 report before a second assessment was published in 2020.

Speaking at a meeting of Colchester Council’s scrutiny panel on Tuesday, Mr Martin, 54, of Mountbatten Drive, said: “I ask the Scrutiny Committee to investigate whether council officers were aware of the original Peter Brett Associates report and whether this critical information was deliberately withheld.

Environment – two reports offer conflicting views on the importance of the WickEnvironment – two reports offer conflicting views on the importance of the Wick (Image: Gosia Zaborny) “This is not merely a case of avoiding future mistakes—it’s about ensuring transparency and accountability now.”

A section of the original report read that only a small part of the Middlewick Ranges – an area of “poor semi-improved grassland” – were not of high biodiversity value.

It read: “Habitats within the site are of high biodiversity value, with much of the site qualifying as habitats or principal importance under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, and also as Essex priority habitats.”