A DEVELOPER has been given permission to build student accommodation instead of a hotel at a central Glasgow site.

Councillors on the city council’s planning applications committee approved an application by Caledon Properties to demolish disused commercial buildings on the corner of Hutcheson Street and Trongate, and replace them with a part 11/ part-seven-storey, 173-bed student facility. A ground floor cafe, open to the public, is also part of the plan.

The building will include music rooms, games room, private dining and private study rooms at basement level. On the ground floor will be fitness and lounge areas.

Communal terraces will be provided on levels one, six, seven and 11.

The current buildings are all disused and were formerly bank premises, shops and The Oriental Bar. Permission was given in February 2020 for a 157-bedroom aparthotel at the site.

City planners had recommended approval. Their report stated: “The proposal has been developed to respond to the historical character, built form and quality of the Central Conservation Area, delivering a high-quality modern addition that seeks to complement the streetscape.

“Considering the data submitted in the context of the application site, the limited number of mainstream residential units, primary commercial operations, and the desire to increase the population of the locale and wider city centre, it is considered that the concentration of student accommodation in this location is not detrimental.”

A design statement included with the application explained: “The building is in poor condition and is having a negative impact on townscape.

“The new proposal will retain the same massing of the previously consented [hotel] building envelope, which was well received by planning and the public.”

The site is beside a category A-Listed Building on the corner of Glassford Street and Trongate which has been refurbished in recent years by Caledon and now features a Caffe Nero at street level with residential apartments above.