MORE than 60 acres of land on the outskirts of Colchester is being sold by British Rail in a bid to raise millions of pounds.

Colchester Council will today publish a new development brief for the site.

It will tell would-be developers a 14-acre plot south of the railway line, off Halstead Road, Stanway, is earmarked for between 120 and 140 homes.

A further 49 acres of land, including protected woodland and farmland, is being sold north of the track.

A spokesman for Lambert Smith Hampton, which is selling the land on behalf of British Rail, said a buyer had been found.

The development brief reveals whoever buys the land will have to carry out a lot of work before any homes can be built.

The long-derelict and overgrown sidings, including a former low-speed railway line, are known to be contaminated.

The development will have to be designed to try to minimise the noise and vibrations from trains going past.

The area has been invaded by New Zealand pygmy weed, which will have to be destroyed, while great crested newts, a protected species found there, will have to be moved north.

There are also a number of tree protection orders in place, while bats and birds could also live there.

Lesley Scott-Boutell, borough councillor for Stanway, who was involved in drawing up the development brief, said the land was also very uneven.

She said: “There are people interested in the land, which is a good thing.”

She added if the right developer came forward, the homes could be popular because there is a wildlife site nearby, and the plans include a play area.

She said: “That will be somewhere where mothers can meet up and start to form a community.”

The development brief was first agreed in 2006, but has been revised.