Firing Gun?

Counterintuitively, military firing ranges are some of the most biodiverse areas in the UK. Occasionally exercising tanks and firing shells causes much less environmental damage than activities like agriculture and house building. Military exercises can even produce some benefits. They limit human access; create pools of water; make track-mark mini habitats etc. Each firing range effectively becomes an oasis, in a desert of biological sameness. It is consequently, disturbing to read that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Colchester Local Authority are agreeing a 'bespoke metric', enabling the former to sell off Essex's Middlewick Ranges, for house building (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/11/ministry-of-defence-under-fire-for-inventing-rules-wildlife-haven-middlewick-ranges). The Middlewick ranges have effectively been protected from 'development' for over 200 years. Middlewick is an area of rare acid grassland, with skylarks and nightingales, feeding on a diverse insect fauna. There is no way, a sale with planning permission for housing (greatly increasing the value of the land to the MOD), could be approved under existing environmental protection legislation. A 'bespoke metric' is just a euphemism for a twisting of rules to facilitate the sale! Local people might be enthusiastic about new homes but a very scarce environment will be lost. This all fits with concerns about the cosy relationship between the current UK government and house builders. House builders and related bodies, give the party 20% of its entire funding. In deed, 10% comes from 10 large property builders. House builders get to have have many, poorly-documented meetings with ministers (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/12/tories-have-unhealthy-financial-reliance-on-property-developers-says-report). There appears to be an 'unhealthy financial reliance' by the Conservative party on property interests. Perhaps this is why agreeing environmental standards for new housing is taking so long?