Yesterday afternoon I met with Jeremy Quinn MP, Minister for Defence Procurement at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to discuss the future of Middlewick Ranges.
I took the opportunity to again outline my long-standing opposition to the sale and proposed building on the Wick.
The frustrating reality is that the MoD will not simply withdraw the site from it's disposal list, especially after Colchester Borough Council (then Labour and Liberal Democrat run) allocated the Wick for 1,000 houses in the Local Plan - a decision I warned and argued strongly against.
As a result, unlike others locally who talk a good talk, I have been working behind the scenes to find other ways to frustrate and ultimately stop the sale and proposed development.
The purpose of my meeting with the Minister at the MoD was to re-emphasise my concerns about the rare lowland acid grassland which would be lost if the sale and development were to go ahead.
Why am I focussing on this?
In part because lowland acid grassland is a UK biodiversity action plan habitat but mostly because I believe that it is our best hope of making the land unviable for development and therefore stopping the sale of the Wick and any proposed development.
How will this help our campaign to save the Wick?
Middlewick Ranges is one of the last significant remaining pieces of undisturbed lowland dry acid grassland and this is reflected in the Planning Inspector's modifications to the Local Plan where a stipulation was added that 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.
I impressed on the Minister the considerable risk that this poses to the MoD given that such a re-creation 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.
If the MoD is unwilling to take this risk, which is my sincere hope, and therefore leave it to any future owner or developer to fulfil this obligation, 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. I have left this with the Minister to consider and will raise it again with him after Easter once his officials at the MoD have explored this further.
The Minister is also aware of my long-standing opposition to the sale and development of the Wick on other grounds and the strength of feeling of local residents.
I desperately wish that Colchester Borough Council had not allocated the Wick for 1,000 houses in the Local Plan which has without doubt made our collective job of trying to save the Wick considerably harder. Of course, I also wish that the MoD were not selling the Wick but the facts are that they do not need two ranges in Colchester and the sale proceeds are to be re-invested in defence. As much as I disagree with it, I understand the MoD's position.
Given the position of the MoD and the unhelpful and counterproductive move by Colchester Borough Council in allocating the Wick for housing, I have been and will continue to explore all and any options and ideas that make it harder for the Wick to be sold and developed.
The fight to save the Wick continues and residents can rest assured that I am 100% with them and leading this fight.