Glasgow City Council has approved plans for a 36-storey student accommodation complex on the site of a former tax office.

The building, named Ard, will be Glasgow’s second tallest building at 114 m (374 feet) and will entail the demolition of Portcullis House in Charing Cross.

In addition, a second ten-storey building will be constructed with commercial space and a new office for the Glasgow Social Enterprise Network (GSEN) charity.

Developer Watkin Jones said the building would have 784 beds, addressing the “chronic shortage” of student accommodation and creating more suitable housing for families.

Construction plans submitted to the Planning Committee of the City Council said that in addition to a communal kitchen and an art studio, the ARD will also have games and cinema rooms, a yoga and spin studio and a fitness studio.

The development will visually enhance the street and create greater distance from the adjacent Scottish Power building.

The developers also plan to build a café at the Newton Street entrance, next to the premises of a social enterprise.

The building will be the second tallest in Glasgow after the 127 m (416 ft) Science Centre.

The future student tenants will have good access to public transport and a basement with 390 bicycle parking spaces.

Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said student numbers in Glasgow were increasing and the city’s three largest institutions were targeting sustained, significant growth in their recent strategic plans.

He added: “Providing high quality student accommodation will meet this increasing demand and will also help to retain skilled young people in the city and revitalise the city centre, which is a key aim of the city council.”

Ongoing demolition work at Portcullis House will make way for the property, but developers said a “large portion” of the existing structure will be retained.

Portcullis House was originally built in the 1970s and was previously used as offices, most recently as a tenant for HMRC.

Since no tenant could be found for the building, it has been vacant since 2020.

Previous plans for residential development on the site were put on hold in August 2021 due to a lack of council guidance.

Responding to the planning committee’s decision, a Watkin Jones Group spokesperson said: “We are delighted that our planning application for The Ard (formerly Portcullis House) has been granted subject to conditions.

“The remediation of an existing brownfield site is carried out according to the highest environmental standards and includes the latest low-CO2 or CO2-free technologies.

“The redevelopment of the site will form a significant part of the overall regeneration of the western end of the city centre, acting as a catalyst for change and increasing the vitality of this part of the city.”