AN HISTORIC village green in northeast Essex will be blighted forever if plans to build a giant warehouse get the go-ahead, residents warned last night.

AN HISTORIC village green in northeast Essex will be blighted forever if plans to build a giant warehouse get the go-ahead, residents warned last night.

A maltings company has lodged plans with Tendring District Council to erect a six-metre high metal warehouse near the green.

Residents in the Georgian houses that surround the green are outraged by the proposals and claim their views will be destroyed.

But the company behind the £250,000 plans, Edme Ltd, which has operated out of the village for more than 100 years, said 80 local jobs would be under threat if its application was blocked.

Members of Mistley Thorn Residents' Association have written to Prince Charles to try to enlist his support for their cause after he took a personal interest in the redevelopment of the village when he visited a few years ago.

They said the warehouse, which would be built in a car park belonging to the firm, would dwarf their houses and halve property prices.

Geoff Robbins, who owns a large Georgian house on one corner of the green, dismissed suggestions that jobs could go.

He said: "At the moment we have a small and very attractive village green and these Georgian houses were built together in harmony with each other.

"But this disgusting wall of metal will completely dominate and ruin things for everybody.

"Mistley Green is a conservation area and this application clearly fails to preserve or enhance its character."

He added residents had also written to English Heritage, a spokeswoman for whom last night expressed concern, although she stressed the size of the plot under consideration did not warrant their direct intervention.

David Amos, managing director of Edme Ltd, which makes food ingredients for major supermarket chains, said he would welcome the chance to talk to residents about their worries, but insisted the site chosen remained his only option.

"If this warehouse was built near my back garden, I would honestly not have a problem with it," said Mr Amos, who lives in Finchingfield.

"It's not going to be small, but there are plans for landscaping and planting trees around it to keep it well hidden.

He added: "Our customers are demanding higher storage standards and this is why we need the new building – if we don't, jobs will be under threat."