CALA Homes had submitted a new planning application to Aberdeen City Council for the delivery of a high quality, three-storey block of 35 apartments at 22 King’s Gate and a partial fourth storey penthouse level with parking at the rear.

The site was formerly Forest Grove care home owned by charity VSA, which will now sell the land as it seeks to raise £3.2 million to build a state-of-the-art mental health facility at Abergeldie Road.

VSA and CALA previously withdrew plans for the disused site after officials had recommended refusal.

A “substantially revised” application by Halliday Fraser Munro, which followed feedback from stakeholders, reduced the number of flats from more than 40 and the height of the building from five storeys.

These new plans were again recommended for refusal by council planners.

Despite the concerns, the plans were passed in a 6-3 vote on the city planning committee.

Ross Maclennan, land director at CALA Homes (North), said: “This development will replace a redundant building with high quality, contemporary apartments built to CALA’s exacting standards.

“The project will also enable our long-time partners at VSA to further invest in providing vital services to the children and adults it supports in Aberdeen and we are very proud to be part of that.”

A spokesperson for VSA added: “We are delighted with the decision by the planning committee approving the joint planning application for our Forest Gove site on Kings Gate. Both VSA and CALA have spent a great deal of time listening and responding to the feedback from residents and the planning officers to make sure the new proposal fits in with the local development plan.

“The sale of this site to CALA will go towards providing much-needed help to vulnerable adults in Aberdeen and our Changing Lives campaign to support adults living with a range of mental health conditions across Aberdeen.

“For 150 years, VSA has been at the heart of the Aberdeen community providing support to vulnerable children and adults. As times have changed, so has the way we have delivered our services but always with one ambition: to give the people of Aberdeen the best of care to enable them to live the best of lives, and the funding from this sale will go directly towards helping us change lives.”