A farmhouse once rented by author Daniel Defoe has won a last-minute reprieve.

Colchester Council’s planning committee looked set tonight to allow the fire-ravaged house, Tubswick, in Mill Road, Colchester, to be demolished.

The application to knock it down has now been withdrawn, after Myland Parish Council complained planning officers had not properly considered its views. It raised several objections to demolition, not least the architectural and historical importance of the site.

It is also concerned the house would be replaced with high-density housing.

Martin Goss, Mile End ward councillor, said he was delighted the house had been saved for the time being.

He said: “We would be making a huge mistake. It should be restored to its former glory.

“What the owners need to do is come up with a complete plan. This is a house with a history and there must be historical value in the building.”

He thinks land behind the house might be developed and the proceeds used to restore the 18th-century Grade II listed house, which was gutted by fire in December.

Owners Adrian and Faith Richardson were renovating the empty building at the time.

Ray Gamble, chairman of the planning committee, said: “I understand Myland Parish Council went to see the planning services manager and he has agreed it ought to be withdrawn.

“No doubt, planning officers will look at whatever has been raised.”

It is rumoured Robinson Crusoe author Defoe wrote one of his other famous works, Moll Flanders, at Tubswick, one of a number of local properties he leased from the Severalls Estate.