Aberdeen city councillors have approved plans for a major new office development on the site of the historic Triple Kirks building on Schoolhill.

Development Management Sub-committee members supported the Stewart Milne Developments scheme to create a development of up to nine storeys, comprising four integrated blocks, by seven votes to four.

The Triple Kirks A-listed red-brick spire will be retained as part of the development and conditions have been imposed to encourage its continued use as a nesting site for peregrine falcons.

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Sub-committee convener Councillor Kate Dean said the past 30 years had seen a series of developments proposed for the prominent site, none of which had come to fruition.

She said: "There has been a desperate need for decades to do something with this site, which has been a scar on the cityscape for far too long. I think this is a good development which will enhance the area, with the glass reflecting the buildings round about, and which will retain the historic spire.

"We need high-quality office development in the city centre to help sustain all of the local businesses. I fully acknowledge that it is a sizeable scheme – but the applicants have done everything they can to reduce the massing, while at the same time creating enough floor space to make an economically viable scheme on what is a very difficult site to develop."

The office blocks will create 6,750 square metres of net floor space, with pedestrian access from Schoolhill, and parking space for 44 vehicles, accessed from Denburn Road.

(CD)