THE former headquarters of the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde can be converted into flats, the council has ruled.

Glasgow's local authority has agreed to plans which will see 67 homes provided in Dalian House, a Charing Cross office block.

The building, on St Vincent Street, has been empty since 2010 when the NHS Trust moved to Gartnavel.

A planning report submitted on behalf of the applicant, the David Tannen Charitable Trust, claims the property has been "actively promoted" since it was vacated but feedback reveals it "no longer meets with "current technology, facilities and installation standards".

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It is "in desperate need of renovation and refurbishment" and is "showing signs of neglect", the report adds.

"The building owner has previously engaged the services of mechanical and electrical consultants to look at the feasibility of upgrading the property as commercial offices.

"However given the age and the apparent over-supply of high-quality office space in the locality the refurbishment and upgrade was deemed not viable in the current marketplace."

Dalian House, named after the Chinese city of Dalian with which Glasgow was twinned was twinned in 1987, was first home to Strathclyde Regional Council.

It was built around 1989 with a facade designed to "respect the original Georgian street frontage along North Street".

The report states the site has previously been subject to an application for hotel and restaurant use but there has been no "substantive" interest from hoteliers to date.

It adds: "The conversion of Dalian House into residential apartments is the best opportunity to bring the building back into active use and to make a positive contribution to both the local economy and present a positive environment for the surrounding community."

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The developer believes the conversion will allow "the largest flexibility of use" as it could "easily be converted" into a hotel, hostel, students flats or serviced apartments in the future if the "apartments become vacant for any particular external economic reasons".

Apartments facing St Vincent Street will have small gardens to "provide a buffer to the street and create a degree of privacy" and the site "benefits from underground car parking, with an exiting in and out ramp currently providing space for some 96 car parking spaces".

There will be five studios, 24 one bed flats and 38 two bed flats.

The applicant has agreed pay £63,000 as part of a Section 69 legal agreement as community gardens, outdoor sports space or children's play equipment weren't included in the plans.