HiTZ Cricket will be allowed to use a vacant ground floor office unit on the Centenary Quay site in Woolston.
The scheme overcame objections, including from residents of the 110-flat Azera block, to be granted by members of Southampton City Council’s planning and rights of way panel.
Cllr Rob Harwood said he welcomed any addition to the amenity provided at Centenary Quay.
Cllr Harwood said: “Centenary Quay on the whole has failed to deliver what it promised the residents of Woolston before it was built.
“That was a lot of social activity, a lot of outlets, a lot of things going on at ground level.”
The application went before the panel after receiving more than 20 objections.
Azera resident Sarah Ryles said objections centred around common themes, including noise, the proposed operating hours and waste collection.
Originally the application sought 24-hour use before reducing its request to 6am to midnight.
Ms Ryles said: “The business started internal works months ago before the planning permission was even applied for and they have also been advertising Azera as their coming soon location since long before Christmas.”
She added: “How is it appropriate to be advertising memberships online when a planning decision hasn’t even been reached yet?”
Councillors were told HiTZ acquired the unit last year and began fitout work after receiving professional advice from a commercial agent.
The business was not aware of a condition attached to a previous planning consent which restructured the use of the unit.
Following an enforcement email from the council in October, all work on site stopped and HiTZ instructed Savills to submit a change of use application.
Jim Beavan, planning agent from Savills, said no further fitout work was undertaken pending the outcome of the panel meeting but any advertisement should also have been removed.
Sam Burge, HiTZ chief operating officer, said: “The proposed use is an indoor cricket training facility designed for individual or small group coaching sessions rather than competitive matches or large gatherings.”
He said no alcohol is served or permitted on site.
Mr Burge added: “The proposed Southampton site would provide a year-round facility that supports grassroots participation in the sport.”
“Southampton and the surrounding areas are home to a diverse and engaged cricket community and we see clear demand for an indoor training option that allows players to train consistently regardless of weather or season.”
The panel was told the early morning and late evening hours were “vitally important” to attracting people to use the facility before and after work.
However, councillors were concerned about the impact on residents and reduced the hours to 7am to 11pm.
Members of the panel were also worried about the lack of on-site staff presence, with users pre-booking and accessing the facility through a QR code.
Cllr Sarah Powell-Vaughan said: “I don’t like the idea that nobody is going to be on site.
“I think that’s a very dangerous mix when you’ve got people that you’ve not necessarily met, you don’t know what they’re going to be like.
“They know that nobody’s on site, so they know they don’t have to behave and when you are dealing with people, people always surprise you and generally not in the best way.”
The approved change of use is restricted to an indoor cricket facility only.