After the six hour meeting, the councillors claimed they were hamstrung by the principles of a previously approved vision for the site by renowned architect Richard Rogers.

The meeting also gave the go-ahead for US boatbuilder Palmer Johnson to start building superyachts on the site. The company says the new manufacturing plant will create 800 new jobs.

The developer Crest Nicholson wants to build three waterfront apartment towers, rising up to 25 storeys, on the 36-acre historic site. Another 600 jobs will be created by the project, says the developer.

But local campaigners say too much housing is included in the Victoria Road plans. Before the meeting John Denham, MP for Southampton Itchen, said: ‘Some form of major development was always inevitable, indeed welcome, on this site given the need to clean up the area after years of heavy industry. ‘It is very good news that hundreds of jobs will be created by a major yacht manufacturer, but I am concerned about the scale and density of the development now proposed.’