The developer will transform the Grade B-Listed building overlooking Union Terrace Gardens into 72 flats, comprising 14 studio apartments, 45 one-bed, nine two-bed and four three-bed flats.

Despite the approval of the plans, the number of properties proposed for the former offices has been a controversial topic among Aberdeen architects objecting to the plans, The Press and Journal reports.

Jack Burnett-Stuart of Bon Accord Heritage said the design of the apartments was “substandard”, stating that “Behind the grand façades on Union Terrace, the developer is seeking to “squeeze in as many tiny flats as possible”, many of which are “barely habitable”, let alone “offering any quality of life for the inhabitant”.

He said: “The contrast could not be more stark, and runs counter to any attempt to regenerate the city centre.

“With imagination and ambition, the adaptive reuse of these buildings has great potential.”

Meanwhile, the Aberdeen Civic Society welcomed the re-use of the vacant office building, but members fear the flats would not do much to attract families to live in the city centre.

The group criticised “the very large number of low-ceilinged small flats, some designed with window-less bedrooms, arranged along long corridors”.

The group said: “Parts might be used as a whole range of domestic uses from hostel to fancy hotel, in sizes from single to family use.”

Despite the objections to the plans, Aberdeen City Council planners have approved the scheme. They said that the changes would “preserve the special character of the listed building” with no adverse impact on Union Terrace.”