THE demolition of a former Royal Bank of Scotland cash handling centre to make way for a new hotel near Queen Street station is set to get under way next month.

Plans were approved for a hotel on the Dale House site, West George Street, almost two years ago. Since then, Bloc Hotels has purchased the building, which has been empty since 2009.

The company has submitted an application to Glasgow City Council to vary some of the conditions attached to the approved plan.

These include changes to the design, including alterations to the facade and a hotel entrance that provides “greater clarity”.

A statement, submitted with the application, reveals the company is targetting a start date of February 2020 for demolition work, which would last 32 weeks. It wants to “deliver the project to the earliest possible timeframes”.

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“Bloc Hotels develop, own and operate high quality, short stay hotels in prime locations,” the application states. “Its smart design and construction techniques create compact, perfectly-formed rooms.

“The Bloc model delivers a value-driven guest experience by focusing on details that matter. By applying spatially efficient design, Bloc delivers exceptional real estate investment returns and continues to go from strength to strength with a well-funded pipeline of construction projects under way.”

The property was purchased from LGIM Real Assets, a division of Legal & General Investment Management.

Dominic Mayes, property director at Bloc, previously said: “We are really excited to have acquired this site and look forward to delivering Bloc Glasgow to this extremely vibrant part of the city.

“The property is in a prime location, directly opposite the recently redeveloped Queen Street Station.

“This is another defining moment in the company’s ambitious growth strategy, as we continue to expand into key gateway locations.”

He noted the number of people using Queen Street Station was set to increase by 40 percent, reaching 28 million annually by 2030.

Bloc has developed designer hotels at Gatwick Airport and in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. Construction is underway on the 25-storey Bloc Grand Central hotel next to Birmingham New Street station.