THE gloves are off in the battle for control of thousands of local purse strings in and around Cinderford. The bare knuckle fighters, Tesco and the Co-op, are fighting a no-holds-barred contest with pride and money as the prizes.

The two stores are toe-to-toe in an epic showdown. And the referee is the district council. Planners will decide on the Tesco application to build on Cinderford RFC's town centre ground early next year.

Rumour upon rumour and a mountain of gossip this week forced the rugby club's committee to work over the weekend on a statement they believe will "clarify various issues."

Bluntly, the club say they want nothing to do with the Co-op and any schemes they are suggesting.

The statement, signed by Matt Bayliss, the rugby club's commercial manager, has been released, he says, "so that there is no misunderstanding about the current situation concerning the potential re-development of its ground at Dockham Road. "

The four point statement reads:

1 The club has a legal contract with developers Chelverton/Kitto for the development of the ground at Dockham Road for a new foodstore. At the same time the developers have secured a suitable site to which the club will be relocated when appropriate. Thus any proposals that have been circulating for an alternative use by other parties have no foundation and cannot be delivered.

2 The club totally supports the existing proposals for relocation and is committed to ensuring that the planning application for a new foodstore on its Dockham Road site is delivered at the very earliest opportunity.

3 The club is very disappointed that the Co-op has unnecessarily delayed the delivery of the new facilities by constantly trying to thwart the new foodstore planning application. This delay has put the future development of the rugby club in jeopardy.

4 Cinderford Rugby Club is legally contracted to working with Chelverton/Kitto and is not interested in engaging with the Co-op over other potential schemes and uses. Its proposals are obviously aimed at ensuring the Co-op maintains its dominant position in the town as no further food retail is included in its proposed scheme.

In response to hundreds of leaflets handed out by The Midcounties Co-operative last week suggesting alternatives to the rugby club development, Tesco made it clear on Monday they were committed to building a new store in Cinderford.

They claim all the necessary land deals are in place to proceed with the scheme as soon as planning consent is obtained.

The Co-op contend the Tesco Cinderford store would be twice as big as the Lydney store and would damage rather than regenerate the town, leading to business closures and traffic chaos.

They say their alternative scheme would be affordable housing and a further retail development on the rugby ground – a scheme they claim would compliment rather than threaten existing traders.

Tesco corporate affairs manager Felix Gummer said: "We have a legal contract with our developers Chelverton/Kitto to build a new foodstore on the existing rugby ground in Dockham Road. Furthermore the land needed to relocate the rugby club at St White's Farm is legally secured and available for immediate use.

"The Tesco scheme is a major driver in the town's regeneration strategy and will deliver another badly needed food store to give local residents a viable alternative when doing their main food shopping. Furthermore it will bring additional footfall into the town and help the existing town centre shops develop their businesses.

"Cinderford currently has 11 empty shops and 13 take-aways devoted to the fast food market – a new foodstore will help boost local trade and bring new traders to the town. Tesco is committed to opening a store in Cinderford. It has everything in place to proceed if it gets planning permission and is eager to work with the local traders to ensure the town and its people benefit from the investment."