A key part of the University of Glasgow’s proposals for a £1 billion expansion of its Gilmorehill campus has been approved by councillors.

Plans to create a ‘learning hub’ on the 14-acre site of the former Western Infirmary were backed at a pre-determination hearing of the Glasgow City Council planning committee yesterday.

The university’s masterplan, which will see several academic and commercial buildings built as well as a supermarket, hotels, restaurants, sports facilities and nursery services, will now go to a full council meeting on 16 February.

An estimated 2,500 jobs will be created during the construction period.

An initial £450 million is expected to be spent over five years at the hospital site, as part of a £1bn investment in facilities by the university.

The extension to the university’s Gilmorehill campus will see a central square linking to Byres Road, and commercial opportunities in the form of restaurants, bars and a hotel.

After securing the backing of councillors, the university will submit further detailed plans on its proposals for the site.

A spokeswoman for the university said: “We are delighted to have received support for our plans at today’s meeting. This is an interim but important stage of the planning process.

“The campus masterplan is due to go before a full council meeting… which we hope will give planning approval for this exciting and ambitious development which will transform the University’s teaching and research provision as well as enhancing the amenities of the city’s West End.”