CONSTRUCTION work on what will be Scotland's tallest building has hit a snag which will see it delayed for a year.

Building won't begin on the Glasgow city centre site for another 12 months as design changes have to be made to comply with new regulations and the introduction of climate control targets.

The delay was confirmed today by developers behind the amibitous plan for Elphinstone Place, a £120million teardrop-shaped building which will tower over the M8 in the city centre.

The 440ft tall block will stand on the old Strathclyde Regional Council HQ site at the corner of St Vincent Street and India Street.

The building will have 39 floors, more than 200 apartments, four glass-fronted penthouses, a swimming pool, shops and offices.

It was to have opened in the run-up to Christmas. Although ground preparation work has been done construction was delayed when the developers brought in a new business partner who wanted time to review the masterplan and the finances.

This has meant an application for detailed planning consent has yet to be submitted to Glasgow City Council by Elphinstone Holdings, a Glasgow-based consortium of private firms.

And the latest hitch, the delay caused by new building control regulations and new climate control targets, will halt building work meanwhile.

Elphinstone's chief executive Ken Ross today confirmed the hold-up.

He said: "We must make changes to the design that will require further consultation with bodies including Architecture and Design Scotland, before a new planning application is submitted.

"We expect all this to take about a year."

Eliphinstone Place will be 29ft higher than the current tallest building in Scotland, the Glasgow Tower at the city's Science Centre.

A restaurant on the 34th floor of Elphinstone Tower will give spectacular views of the city.

Architects with Conran and Partners were brought in seven months ago to take over the project. They have designed towers in the UK and in Japan and have worked with Elphinstone's new partners City Lofts.