IT'S the battle which is playing out very publicly.

On the one hand, we are being told the Tollgate Village scheme is a "once in a lifetime opportunity" while on the other, council bosses say it will kill off an already-fragile High Street.

But who do you believe?

Here, we look at the arguments which have been put forward during the two-week planning appeal which is due to conclude tomorrow.

Colchester Council and 'Rule Six' parties, including Fenwick, CBRE Global Investment and M&G Investments say the scheme would damage the town centre irreparably.

They also claim if the £70 million Tollgate Village is approved, the Colchester Council-led shopping centre at Vineyard Gate would be "unlikely" to proceed because retailers would be more attracted to the out-of-town development.

Senior Lib Dem councillor Dominic Graham has also warned approving the appeal would lead to Colchester having an "empty town centre".

He has also pointed to the perceived negative effect Freeport Shopping Village has had on Braintree town centre.

Colchester Council leader Paul Smith warned of the impact it would have on 6,000 workers who commute to Colchester from Tendring, many of whom work in the town centre retail sector.

Deputy leader Tim Young said Tollgate Village lacks "overwhelming public support".

During a public session, he also said: "I am very proud of the town centre.

"Will it [Tollgate Village] kill the town centre? No it won't.

"Will it wound it and set it back? Yes it would.

"Our town centre has been resilient. It struggles to keep people coming in but we can't have anything that will impact that fragile success that we have."

But dozens of residents turned up at that public session to speak in favour of the development, with some criticising the council as "anti-competition" and short-sighted.

Former Colchester Council planning committee chairman Jon Manning has also publicly backed the plans.

Mr Manning used his casting vote to approve the plans in February last year but a final decision was deferred until the next meeting.

But the chairman - along with his deputy chairman, Lib Dem Jessica Scott-Boutell, who also voted for the plans - were not able to attend the second hearing, which saw the plans officially refused.

One of the reasons for refusal was the loss of employment land.

In his submission to the Tollgate Village appeal inspector, Mr Manning, who lost his Wivenhoe seat in May, said: “At the time I felt that the officers made the correct decision according to the policy within our local plan but in my opinion the economic benefit to the borough outweighed the need for employment land.

“I based my consideration by calculating the number of potential jobs by the minimum wage for Tollgate Village versus the potential employment that would be deemed plausible on the site.

"The site would not lend itself to heavy industry or to any business using large lorries due to its proximity to many children’s favourite burger chain.

“Therefore, in my opinion the need for this as employment land was out of date.”

He added: “As with many aspects of law planning needs flexibility and the fact that this had formerly been a retail site in my opinion was evidence of its sustainability.”

Mr Manning also accused council planning officers of hypocrisy, adding: “This idea of there being enough employment land in the borough was supported by officers when a change of use was granted on the B&Q site on the other side of town a couple of weeks later.”

The former councillor added: “The clientele for each of the areas is distinct and, like myself, most people will chose where to shop depending upon that day needs.

“I, therefore, feel the impact on the town centre of Tollgate Village would be far less than the internet will be.”

So, what's your view?