ON Monday just over half of Colchester Borough Council voted to endorse the Local Plan.

Many did so with a heavy heart and reluctance because of the designation of the Army Firing Ranges, known as the Wick, would be used to build 1,000 houses.

The Wick is a unique ecological area containing many rare species and acting as a local amenity for two of the largest estates in Colchester.

1,000 houses would create additional congestion on two of our busiest roads.

No one knows quite how the Wick, which is designated as a brownfield site, despite being fallow for 200 years, came to be in the local plan.

It was discussed at the meetings between the planning officers and the MoD before the first draft was made. Why?

The way to save the site from destruction of its unique ecosystem and to ensure that the 1,000 houses aren’t turned into the 2,000 the MoD wants, was to reject the plan, and start again, but with a replacement plan, excluding the Wick.

There is a risk, without a current plan, and during the long consultation period required for a revision, areas like Tiptree and West Mersea, would be exposed to speculative building.

The Labour Group leader was quite clear that he felt there should be no building on the Wick and that the conditions laid down by the inspector would make meeting planning requirements very difficult.

He saw the solution to defending the Wick by persuading the MoD to give the land to the community.

There are many serving and ex-soldiers living in the town who deserve to have the Wick and its ecology dedicated to them.

The money the MoD will make from the site is small change when measured against its budget.

I will be proposing to the next Constituency Labour Party meeting that we set up a campaign to stop the development of the Wick by putting further pressure on the MoD to dedicate the land to all those soldiers that have used it in preparing to defend this country’s interests.

Alan Short

Oaks Drive, Colchester