The local authority revealed plans last year to redevelop the derelict site at 24 Glasgow Road into new one and two-bedroom flats.

The original council property was converted in 1997 from two two-bedroom flats and eight two-bedroom maisonettes into support hostel accommodation managed by the YMCA, with shared two and three-bedroom units on the first and second floors.

The project was discontinued in 2001 and the premises were used as homeless temporary accommodation until 2014.

Council officials had said the management of the building “always proved challenging” due to the configuration of the accommodation and the lack of a 24-hour security presence.

A decision in 2014 to redesign the building into a single person homeless unit met with building regulation difficulties and in 2017 a survey was carried out on renovating the accommodation as mainstream letting units. This, however, found that the flats would be difficult to let and since then a variety of potential uses have been considered but deemed unsuitable, with the property lying empty.

While Stirling Council will cover demolition costs of around £80,000, most of the estimated £500,000 costs of building the new council housing on the site will be covered by Scottish Government grant funding.

Making their decision, council planners said: “The removal of the existing building on site is seen a positive intervention, as it does not have an architectural relationship to the surrounding area.

“The proposed building will be a two storey terrace development featuring eight flatted dwellings and be topped with a pitched roof. The scale of the proposed is deemed to be more appropriate, and in keeping with the surrounding neighbouring properties.

“An area of private garden ground is being provided to each unit contained within the building, with the majority of the space provided to the entrance located to the rear, with a small area of garden ground provided to the Barnsdale Road fronting properties.”

Ten new parking spaces are included and there will be a new bicycle stand for up to 10 bikes within the rear courtyard.