SUPPORTERS of the idea said it could prove to be the perfect eatery for people who enjoyed the high life.

But proposals to turn the top of a 650ft chimney into a restaurant will not form part of an initial planning application to redevelop Fawley power station.

Owners Fawley Waterside have revealed that the stack’s long-term future has yet to be decided.

A spokesman confirmed that the restaurant idea had not been scrapped but said the consortium was studying its options for the chimney in more detail.

Plans to create a spectacular restaurant-in-the-sky as part of an £800 million scheme to transform the site were unveiled a year ago.

Fawley Waterside said it intended to transform the top of the chimney by building a glass-sided facility boasting spectacular views of Southampton Water.

An artist’s impression showed a petal-shaped structure high above the rest of the proposed development.

Other plans unveiled last year included 1,500 homes and a luxury marina, plus shops, cafes and a hotel. A new primary school and a ferry serving communities on both sides of Southampton Water were also suggested.

The scheme has since been revised as a result of the feedback Fawley Waterside received following a touring exhibition it staged in the autumn.

A second exhibition explaining the changes will be held at the Jubilee Hall, Fawley, on June 8-9.

The Fawley Waterside spokesman said: “The exhibition will show how the masterplan has evolved over the last eight months and the detailed work that has been happening with all the statutory consultees.”

None of the changes will be revealed ahead of the display but the subsequent planning application will not include a high-rise restaurant.

“We have taken the decision not to include the chimney as part of the outline submission for the simple reason that we have not yet decided what the future of the chimney will be,” said the spokesman.

“We would prefer to explore the viability of retaining the chimney as a visitor attraction as a separate exercise.”

If the application is approved a second, more detailed submission will also have to be given the go-ahead before work can start.

One of the exhibitions staged last year was held at Calshot Activities Centre.

Many of the people crowded into a room overlooking the Solent to study the scheme gave a favourable reaction to the far-reaching scheme.