Architects working on the former Vosper Thornycroft site have unveiled their vision for Woolston's future. We take an exclusive look...

THESE glittering towers of steel and glass are set to form a dramatic waterside gateway to Southampton.

Rising from the old Vosper Thornycroft site on the banks of the Itchen at Woolston, they replace the former shipbuilding sheds which dominated the skyline for decades.

This is the first glimpse of plans for the 36-acre site, which have been put together by world-renowned architects the Richard Rogers Partnership.

Given the task of accommodating up to 1,500 homes, industry and public spaces on the riverfront, these images give an insight into how the firm - the brain behind the striking designs for the Millennium Dome and the Pompidou Centre in Paris - sees Woolston's future.

In this vision, Victoria Road is extended down to the riverside, with room for more shops and an open market place intended for events like farmers' markets and antique fairs.

The 12-storey apartment blocks are to be built on "fingers" which reach out into the river, giving as many residents as possible waterfront homes.

The old VT Fitting Out Trade Complex has been kept as "a marker between the old and the new".

RRP architects told residents to "expect something special" and now feel they have delivered.

Senior director at RRP Andrew Morris said: "We think it's incredibly exciting.

"You have got a series of tall landmark buildings that really pick out the site in a spectacular manner.

"There is a series of finger buildings that reach out into the water.

"The intention is to remodel the water's edge, which at the moment is a dilapidated dock edge that just peters away.

"As you come across the site, the height of buildings cascades down to the existing height of housing in Victoria Road, so it is sympathetic.

"The intention is to extend Victoria Road to the river's edge and create a new public space in front of the last building left from the ship-building days.

"It will create a vibrant heart for Woolston and give the area an identity.

"The principle of the scheme is to open up the whole river frontage to the Woolston community."

VT's old deep water quay is also being retained to attract marine businesses to the scheme, which it is hoped will create

1,000 jobs and occupy about just under half the site.

Now renamed Woolston Riverside, the former ship works was snapped up from VT for £15m by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).

It became available after VT switched to a state-of-the-art new shipbuilding facility in Portsmouth last year, ending its historic

association with Southampton and bringing the curtain down on 100 years of warship-building on the site. Ken Glendinning of SEEDA said: "These images capture our vision for the site very successfully.

"We hope that the local community will be very excited about it.

"These are stunning landmark buildings. We are setting the bar high in terms of our aspirations for the site."

A city council spokesman said it was difficult to comment because of planning

rules but described the bold new images as "exciting".

The images are to be distributed to Woolston residents in a SEEDA newsletter about the site later this month.

A full planning application is to be lodged with the council in April.

GIVING SOUTHAMPTON THE WOW FACTOR:

THE WOOLSTON riverside proposals are the latest in a series of ideas to inject the Wow factor back into Southampton.

The Daily Echo and the city council are searching for an iconic building or scheme to sell Southampton to the outside world.

A city council report criticised the way the city has marketed itself and called for something to wow tourists and visitors.

Ideas that have already been floated include a dramatic remodelling of Royal Pier, a Titanic museum and towing the original Queen Mary back from her mooring in Long Beach, California and using her as a floating hotel in Southampton Water.