The fate of a treasured Tottenham building will be decided tonight after years of controversy.

Developers Grainger are “delighted” with the amount of support their plans for Wards Corner have received and are hopeful the development will finally be waived through.

Development director at Grainger David Walters said today: “We are delighted with the amount of support that this new application has received, which we understand is almost unprecedented in Haringey, and hope that the planning committee will agree that we have responded positively to their previous concerns.”

Tonight’s planning meeting at 7pm in Haringey Civic Centre in High Road, Wood Green, is expected to last many hours and will give developers a chance to voice their proposals while hearing objections from members of the Wards Corner Community Coalition (WCC).

Despite Grainger’s confidence, the last public meeting to discuss the future of the south Tottenham landmark, which is above Seven Sisters Tube station, was abandoned after campaigners started heckling the developers.

However, Sara Hall, who is a member of the WCC said: “Nobody wants to disrupt it this time - everyone wants a chance to speak.

“We are not as positive as we would have felt about a public enquiry. The way that these meetings go is that the council decides who speaks and for how long and so it is an insecure position on our behalf.”

Grainger is proposing to demolish Wards Corner and transform the space into a hub of new shops, restaurants and 196 new homes.

The developers believe the changes could bring 600 jobs to the area and £11 million of new retail spending to the area in the next five years.

Campaigners from the WCC have submitted objections to Haringey Council about the proposals, believing the development would cause “irrevocable damage” to the economy as well as to the character and the culture of the area.

The chair of Tottenham Traders Moaz Nanjuwany, who is fighting to protect Wards Corner from Grainger’s plans, said Haringey Council are pushing through the development despite a similar planning application being pushed through last July.

He said: “This will affect all the small businesses in the area and makes a mockery of our democratic and legal process.

"How can these people sleep at night with a clear conscience? No small business or individual would be allowed to do this.”