Over 600 student flats to be built on former city council offices

Almost 600 student studios and 20 social-rent flats are set to be built on the site of former council offices in Glasgow city centre.

Vita Group has been granted permission to develop land which has been empty since 2015 when Nye Bevan House — the former Strathclyde Regional Council offices — was demolished.

Plans submitted on behalf of the developers said the project will create a “high quality development that will provide much-needed purpose-built student accommodation”.

They added it will also deliver residential flats — to be managed by the West of Scotland Housing Association — and a ground floor commercial unit.

Rising to 19 storeys at its highest point, the new development will “align with the shoulder block of the Scottish Power building” nearby.

As well as 591 student studios to be owned and operated by Vita Student, there will be 10 one-bed and 10 two-bed flats for social rent.

The student properties will have an “extensive garden amenity space and roof terraces” while a “private rear amenity space” is planned for the affordable housing.

A lettable commercial unit will be included to the north of the site at ground level, near to the Charing Cross train station entrance.

Plans also revealed there will be a total of 335 cycle parking spaces across the student and social-rent accommodation.

They added: “The new building will be an attractive improvement to this end of the city centre adjacent to the motorway and aligning with Glasgow City Council’s aspirations to establish a modernised identity to the area.”

Council planners, who approved the bid, described the development as a “series of linked elements staggered in height”, with the lowest at seven storeys, rising to 19.

They said a student need assessment had shown universities are “experiencing strong growth, leading to rapidly growing demand for accommodation”.

“The city remains undersupplied with accommodation for the fast-growing student population,” they added.