The future of Wigan is at stake – and people are prepared to fight for it.
A battle which began months ago will finally come to a head when Wigan's planning committee meets on Tuesday (November 2) to make a decision.
They will be voting on plans to transform the town centre, reducing its reliance on retail – and making way for food and drink outlets and entertainment venues.
READ MORE: The traders who have watched Wigan Market change for generations now fear for their future
The whole project will be worth £190m, according to the developers behind it.
If the green light is given, much of The Galleries shopping centre - which only opened around 30 years ago - would be demolished, as would Wigan Market.
A new hotel, 464 homes and a multimedia centre with a cinema, ten-lane bowling alley and indoor mini golf would be built as part of the Galleries 25 project – a joint venture partnership between developers Cityheart and BCEGI.
And a new market hall with stalls, shops and offices has also been proposed.
But faced with uncertainty, many market traders are against the move, fearing they will not fit into the new 'gentrified' facility which would be on Marketgate.
Opponents say the redevelopment is designed for a city centre and not suited to Wigan, a market town with a mining history and working class heritage.
Thousands have signed a petition calling for the development to be halted.
And some have criticised Wigan council for appointing BCEGI UK - a Chinese state-owned company - to carry out the three-year construction programme.
But council leader David Molyneux believes this is the best plan for the town.
"I can't leave it as it is," he said. "The old approach to town centres is no longer viable. There has to be a different offer to get people into town centres."
The Labour councillor, who has led the local authority since 2018, is convinced that the council's development partners are 'the right people to deal with', defended their 'track record of development', saying they 'tick all the boxes'.
BCEGI UK is already involved in a number of projects around the North West including Airport City in South Manchester and Middlewood Locks in Salford.
The company's construction director Aaron Adams, who comes from Astley himself, has already met with local subcontractors to discuss the project.
He is keen to highlight the benefits to local businesses who will be serving food and drink for up to 450 workers a day while construction takes place.
And he believes his business - which is backed by the Chinese state - offers the best value for money to taxpayers, with a guarantee the job will be done.
"It's a huge advantage for the people of Wigan," he said. "They won't be left with a white elephant."
Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, who has quizzed the company, says she has received assurances regarding national security and human rights concerns she had.
The shadow foreign secretary has called for the UK to take a stand against China which is accused of genocide against Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region – but she has stopped short of calling for a blanket boycott on all trade.
However, the Labour MP has called out the council for not fulfilling the 'clear commitments' it made to her, promising a public debate about the proposal.
Wigan council rejected requests for a full council debate despite receiving a petition signed by more than 5,000 people, saying it would be inappropriate for such a debate to take place while the planning process is still ongoing.
The council's planning officers have now published their report on the proposal, recommending that the committee approves the application.
But the final decision falls to the 15 members of the planning committee.
Friends of Wigan Town Centre, the protest group behind the petition, has now written to councillors on the planning committee with a long list of objections.
They have condemned the council's consultation, claiming many residents do not even know about the major plans which were published earlier this year.
One person will have the opportunity to voice these objections at the meeting on Tuesday – and the group will broadcast this speech via social media too.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, one market trader who asked to remain anonymous, said: "We remain steadfast in our opposition to what amounts to the destruction of the town centre and the building of flats instead of retail, eventually creating what could be a ghetto-style town centre."
The planning committee will meet on Tuesday (November 2) at 2pm.
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