The long-awaited decision to approve Battersea Power Station’s redevelopment has drawn praise from community leaders amid fiery protests from campaigners.

Wandsworth Council’s planning committee gave the green light to a developer’s plans to build 3,400 new homes on the site and stump up more than £200m to build two more stops on the Northern Line from Kennington.

A new tube station is to be located at the power station site with another at Wandsworth Road to serve the eastern part of Nine Elms and surrounding area, after Treasury Holdings pledged £211m in total for infrastructure improvements and community services.

Planning application committee chairman, Councillor Nick Cuff, said the plan brought a “huge economic windfall” to the site and the Nine Elms area.

Coun Cuff said: "This scheme would restore one of London's most iconic buildings and create thousands of new jobs and homes.

“There is still a great deal of work to be done but this is an important step forward and will give the area's other major investors the confidence to press ahead with their plans."

A pedestrian high street and town square are part of the masterplan, with space set aside for new shops, restaurants, bars, cafes, offices, a hotel, cinema and other community uses.

But at the meeting on Thursday evening, there were a number of protestors from the Battersea Power Station Community Group, who have campaigned to save the Grade II* listed building’s iconic chimneys.

Inside the packed council chamber, Coun Cuff rebuffed angry heckles from the public gallery and said: “This is not a football stadium.”

When the decision was made, one disgruntled resident shouted to the leader of the council: "Looks like we'll see you in court Mr Lister," while another shouted "shame" repeatedly.

Brian Barnes of the Battersea Power Station Community Group, who also protested outside, said: "I’m disappointed with the decision but it was what we were expecting.

"But the decision is not as clear cut as it seems. Where are [the developers] going to get the money to give to the council?"

He added the plans could still be vetoed by the Health and Safety Executive, if it was deemed that continued work on the power station would still pose a safety risk to the public.

Battersea’s MP, Jane Ellison, said: “I am delighted that Wandsworth Council has given the Power Station plans the go-ahead.

“So many local residents have expressed to me how much they want to see the Power Station brought back to economic life.

“I believe that this is the beginning of an exciting era for Nine Elms and for the residents in that area.”