The decision came after a three hour in-depth marathon planning meeting at the town’s Winding Wheel conference centre attended by members of the public.

There was loud applause from the 200 or so Spireites fans who also attended when the vote was taken.

It’s another major step but is not the end of the planning process, which is set to rumble on for some more weeks yet until around October with further hurdles to overcome.

The next step is for the Secretary of State to decide if there are any grounds to call in the development plans for a public enquiry.

Chesterfield chairman Barrie Hubbard said: “We all feel elated that at last we are getting somewhere and congratulate the development team in putting together such a comprehensive regeneration plan that has now been unanimously approved.”

He added: “There are the normal conditions concerning highways and traffic, landscaping, community safety and the like to work through, but nothing that isn’t capable of being resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.”

Although there was plenty of support there were some local objections as well from residents in the Whittington Moor area mainly about traffic issues. Most queries were raised about the Tesco development as it deviated from the Local Plan.

A surprise late bid by Sainsbury’s to delay the planning process to enable their own extension plans to be considered at the same time was rejected.