Plans to create a 133-bedroom hotel at a former mill complex in Dundee have been approved.
Council officers have decided the transformation of part of Lower Dens Works, south of Princes Street, will ensure that its A-listed buildings are protected from deterioration and brought back into productive use.
The development will see the conversion of the five-storey Bell Mill, which dates back to 1866, and the three-storey North Mill, which was built in 1935, using the existing building shell and dividing it up using partitions and suspended ceilings.
The ground floor of the three-star hotel, which will be operated under the Ibis Styles brand, will include an entrance foyer, restaurant, and conference/meeting accommodation, with bedrooms on the upper floors.
Some new windows and doors will be created, along with a 24-space car park in the courtyard.
JM Architects, who have designed the hotel, said the project would attract investment, create jobs and secure the sustainable future of “one of Dundee’s great landmarks”.
“Lower Dens Works has been identified as being ideally situated and offers significant advantages and great potential as a city centre hotel,” they added.
The whole of Lower Dens Works, which is historically associated with the Baxter Brothers, is on the Scottish buildings at risk register.
The mills have been completely empty since 2008 and are now in need of repair to prevent their condition worsening.
A council report noted that planning policies supported high-quality visitor accommodation only within the city centre.
“Whilst the proposal technically falls outwith the city centre boundary, the proposed hotel will support and complement the function of the city centre without undermining its existing services and facilities, including other hotel establishments.
“The proposal will also bring historically significant A-listed mill buildings back in to active use, involving sensitive repair, restoration and refurbishment, and that is also expected to assist in the redevelopment of the remainder of the Lower Dens Works site,” the report said.
Important features of the buildings, such as the cast iron roof trusses in the Bell Mill, will also be retained.
The council report said: “Overall, the proposal to convert and re-use the historic buildings have been designed in such a way as to preserve their character whilst still providing high-quality accommodation.”
Ian Thomson, senior heritage management officer with Historic Scotland, said: “The re-use and adaptation of these buildings is very much welcomed and we are content for this scheme to progress.”