COLCHESTER Council was dutybound to fight the Tollgate Village Plans, according to leader Paul Smith.

Mr Smith said he was disappointed at the decision to give the retail and leisure park plans the green light but did not regret the decision to fight them.

The council's planning committee twice turned down the plans, and the authority spent just shy of £160,000 funding an appeal.

He said: "I am disappointed the Local Plan has been overruled.

“It is based on consultation with a number of people and was what had been agreed.

“We now need to work with the developers to get the best deal possible for the people of Colchester.

“It is a duty of the council to defend the Local Plan and the planning committee.

“You cannot just bow to every developer who says they are going to appeal.

“We will not always win and on this occasion we didn’t.

“If you do not stand up to developers then they will walk all over you.”

Mr Smith believes cinemas at Tollgate Village and Northern Gateway - which was approved last month - can both co-exist.

He said: “Northern Gateway is all about leisure – Tollgate Village is retail, I do not see a particular conflict.

“There are good road links between them and you may have a family where half want to do sports and others want to do retail.

“Cineworld want to come to Northern Gateway because of the location. Tollgate Village’s location is inferior.

“Northern Gateway is right next to the A12 where as you would need a couple of roundabouts to get to the Tollgate Village site.

“I would say Tollgate Village is looking for a local clientele whereas Northern Gateway with the iMax facilities will be regional.

“It is a bit like a Premier League football club being near to a League Two side. They are operating in different markets.”

Mr Smith predicted changes would have to come in Colchester’s High Street in the wake of the Tollgate Village decision.

He said: “The High Street will have to evolve.

“It appears there is going to be a large out of town retail park and I think it will have an impact on the larger retailers.

“The smaller ones will also have to cope with less footfall.”

Mr Smith said he hoped the hundreds of jobs created at Tollgate Village would provide an opportunity for people set to move into a garden community at West Tey.

He said: “It will create hundreds of jobs and will help people looking for work at the West Tey garden community.

“A large number of jobs could be appearing on their doorstep.”

For a full report on the decision click here.