Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Plan to turn Aberdeen office block into high-end flats

6 Golden Square
6 Golden Square

A vacant office block in the heart of Aberdeen could be transformed into 13 new apartments to boost the number of homes in the city centre.

A £3.5million project to turn granite town house, 6 Golden Square, into residential space has been submitted to planners by property specialists, West Coast Estates.

The firm said it was clear the centre of Aberdeen was becoming over-run with office space, and that an increasing amount of it was lying empty.

Director Iftikar Mian said that with the uncertainly surrounding the oil & gas industry, it was time for his team to focus on creating new living spaces instead – and make the most of “vacant and significant” buildings in the centre of town.

“It is important to take a step back when assessing any property and not have your vision clouded in terms of its potential use,” he said.

“We have owned 6 Golden Square as an office block and it has been successfully let in the past.

“However, requirements in the office market are evolving and demand now is for open plan accommodation which simply isn’t possible in the traditional layout of period properties.

“The office market is also being impacted by a plentiful supply of Grade A new-build offices, as well as a reduced demand due to the uncertainty in the oil and gas industry.

“From our perspective a change to residential use is a commonsense solution to revitalise a vacant and significant building.”

Mr Mian said the refurbishment would keep in mind the historic features of the B-listed property.

“The proposals respect the history and heritage of the building whilst tuning in to contemporary residential trends,” he said.

“In our view it is the best of both worlds and in discussions with planners, the concept has been well received.”

He added said it was the responsibility of property firms, like his, to “tackle” the issue of vacant properties, and support the city in its vision to encourage more people to live in the centre of town.

He said “hidden gems” like Golden Square were a perfect place to start.

“We firmly believe that providing the right mix of residential, retail and business premises is vital to the long term future of the city centre,” he said.