THEY were supposed to be dream properties in a £500m luxury waterside development offering stunning views of the River Itchen.

But new homeowners are outraged after plans that would see them have access to the waterside at the multi-million pound Centenary Quay development were dropped.

Residents living in newly-built homes in the Woolston complex claim they have been ‘mis-sold’ their homes after the city council approved plans, which include a giant 27-storey tower – the focal point of the scheme – but without a public riverside walkway.

Developers claim they sealed off the walkway following recommendations from police amid fears over crime and antisocial behaviour.

But ward councillors argued that the developer could have avoided those security risks by sticking to original plans to create shops and restaurants on the ground floor, rather than replacing them with more homes.

Today (Friday) residents will vent their anger at a public meeting being held on the estate. As previous reported residents are furious after Southampton City Council planning chiefs approved plans to make a riverside walkway private near the huge tower – blocking off part of a path which originally ran roughly 200 metres across the waterfront.

More than 100 people objected to plans proposed by developers Crest Nicholson to block off 60 metres of the waterfront path surrounding a tower block of 157 flats after deciding to change the ground floor commercial units into four residential units.

While planning permission had already been granted for the development, which will create 1,000 jobs, planning chiefs were considering a bid for specific details of the next phase which included an extension to the basement car park and children’s play area for the former Vosper Thornycroft site.

A statement from planning officers in the committee documents says that the design could potentially result in “crime and antisocial behaviour”, following advice from police.

It also claims that there are concerns it would create a “wind tunnel” and security lighting on the tunnel would have an impact on wildlife.

A 33-year-old man, who did not want to give his name, has recently moved into a £175,000 flat in the area.

He said: “We are really upset about it. We were sold the development as a luxury riverside dwelling with cafés and restaurants and access to the water. "All the marketing and brochures showed one thing and what they are proposing is different. We’ve all been mis-sold.”

Another woman resident branded the tower as a “monstrosity” and added: “Every selling point of centenary quay is going and not one single resident is happy about it.”

City councillor Warwick Payne, who represents the Woolston ward and is also cabinet member for housing, said: “Crest Nicholson have designed the problem in themselves. If there were retail units there would have been regular footfall, there wouldn’t be groundfloor homes and the expectation of antisocial behaviour and security would be much less.”There is a whole section of prime waterfront space where the public and the community are being told ‘go away, you are not welcome’. There are some residents who feel they were sold one thing and have ended up with another.”

A spokesman for Crest Nicholson said: “We concluded that public access was not viable around the full extent of the tower. This decision was not made lightly but was based upon technical and expert advice which concluded that a walkway in this location could not be safe and well designed. Our concerns were reinforced at the planning meeting by a representative from Hampshire constabulary.”

A public meeting will be held in the Centenary Quay sales office today at 5.30pm with management company Stiles Harold Williams.

But Crest Nicolson is not believed to be attending.

Earlier this year the Daily Echo revealed that Morrisons had pulled out of opening a new store in the heart of the development which would have employed more than 200 people.