A PAINTBALL centre will open near Layer Marney after a two-year battle.

Andrew Wright first submitted plans to open the site at Layer Wood in 2011.

He was forced to withdraw the application amid concerns put forward by the Essex Wildlife Trust and make a string of changes.

Colchester Council last night approved his latest application by eight votes to two.

Mr Wright, who runs a paintball site in Hadleigh, Suffolk, said: “There is a need for a paintball site in Colchester.

"We are not here to cut the woodland down.

"We are a family run business and we enjoy woodland and spend a lot of our social time in it."

One of the conditions means the business can only open for a maximum of 80 daysa year.

Mr Wright said: "This will not fail. It will be something Colchester can be proud of."

A spokesman for residents opposing the Maldon Road application had claimed the project would be detrimental to wildlife.

He said: "More than half the species in the UK are under threat.

"This is no time to turn Layer Wood into a noisy battlefield."

The centre will create the equivalent of 5.5 full time jobs.