A PLAN to convert a prominent empty office building in central Glasgow into flats has been approved.

Permission has been given for Dalian House, the former NHS Glasgow headquarters at Charing Cross to be turned into 67 apartments.

There will be 24 one-bedroom units, 38 with two bedrooms and five studio flats.

An existing underground car park with 96 spaces will be kept and cycling storage will also be provided.

The building is on the corner of St Vincent Street and North Street, near the M8 motorway. Commercial uses are proposed for the ground floor space facing the motorway.

The site was previously subject of an application for hotel and restaurant use but there has been no firm interest from hoteliers. Upgrading it to commercial office space is not considered viable.

Dalian House was built in 1989/90 and first housed Strathclyde Regional Council staff. It is named after a city in northern China with which Glasgow was twinned in 1987.

The premises have been unoccupied since around 2010 after the NHS trust moved to a new facility at Gartnavel.

A statement submitted as part of the change-of-use planning application stated: “The owner’s property agents have been actively promoting the site since then but feedback is that the facility no longer meets current technology, facilities and installation standards and is in desperate need of renovation and refurbishment. The property has been empty since that time and is showing signs of neglect.

“With the existing and recent residential developments in the area it is considered that residential would be the most appropriate use for the property.”