PLANS have been revealed which could see the former Queen Street station car park converted into a large office development.

The move follows issues with the original proposal to build a new car park and retail units on the North Hanover Street site.

Glasgow City Council say the new scheme, while smaller in level of investment, falling from £80m to £45-50m, is expected to create the same economic impact for the city.

Council leader Susan Aitken said: "Our city centre is hugely important to the economic, cultural and social life of Glasgow and any new development brings with it the opportunity to make the centre a more desirable place to visit and in which to live and work.

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"The revised business case for this project promises to enhance public spaces; support one of our major transport hubs, and deliver more much-needed Grade A office space in the heart of the city."

Councillors approved preparation of a revised business case, re-configuring the Tax Incremental Finance (TIF) scheme, this morning.

The TIF model is a way of funding enabling infrastructure necessary to kick-start new development. It allows local authorities to capture additional non domestic rates (NDR) revenue.

In Glasgow, the original TIF proposal was to redevelop Buchanan Galleries, owned by Land Securities, and would have included a new entrance to the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (GRCH), the pedestrianisation of Dundas Street, upgrade of Cathedral Street Bridge, a contribution towards the redevelopment of GRCH to incorporate the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and improvements and linkages to nearby streets and spaces.

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Part of the Buchanan Galleries project would have taken place on land beside Queen Street station, owned by Network Rail.

However, no agreement could be reached on how the scheme could be delivered alongside the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP), which involves the redevelopment of Queen Street Station.

Network Rail approached Transport Scotland over the original proposals as it "contained vital operational facilities essential to the running of Queen Street station".

This resulted in a £15m variation on the station redevelopment project, providing staff accommodation and operational facilities.

Land Securities asked Transport Scotland to investigate an alternative £15m to prevent development on the former car park being extinguished and "the probable failure of the TIF".

Transport Scotland told Network Rail to determine what could be delivered on the site, finding it "could be developed as a prime office location".

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The proposal could include up to 300,000 square feet of office space and the revised business case will now be developed.

Land Securities are now no longer considering the larger extension of Buchanan Galleries, but are progressing on the southern extension and the refurbishment of the rest of the Galleries.

An amendment was passed at today’s City Administration Committee to consider all financial models as part of the business case for the revised TIF.