SCOTTISH Enterprise have been given permission for a major office building on a high-profile Glasgow City Centre site

The development — Inovo 2 — will be on the temporary landscape area bounded By Ingram Street, Shuttle Street and Albion Street, and will be part of the Glasgow City Innovation District.

It will be south of the Inovo 1 building on George Street and beside the University of Strathclyde Technology and Innovation Centre. Inovo 1 is close to full occupation, currently accommodating 16 separate tenants and approximately 380 employees, prompting the next phase of development.

A report submitted by architects 3D Reid with the application stated: “The aspiration is to provide a building that is innovative in terms of its design and that will provide a mix of spaces and an environment which will attract companies seeking to collaborate and innovate through partnerships with academia and other industry partners.”

The building will have seven storeys around a central atrium and a floor area of nearly 10,000 square metres. The lower ground floor includes parking for around 100 bicycles, with changing facilities, plus five car parking spaces.

Planning officials acknowledged that the imposing A-Listed Herald Building across from the site had “benefited from the absence
of any redevelopment on the east side of Albion Street until recently.”

But they added: “The site is nevertheless regarded as a development opportunity within the development plan context and the current vista, derived from the open nature of the street, is not part of the planned approach for this part of Merchant City.”

The City Council planning applications committee approved the proposal.