Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen has been given the green light to move forward with plans for a major redevelopment of its Garthdee campus.

Aberdeen City Council's (ACC) planning department approved a masterplan for the overhaul, which aims to provide the university with a new central point of arrival. New buildings, which will offer 34,000sq m (365,973sq ft) of floor space, will be linked to the existing Faculty of Health and Social Care next to RGU: SPORT and the Aberdeen Business School.

RGU's academic activities at the Garthdee Campus will move to new teaching and learning facilities housed in the new buildings, including a new library and formal and informal learning spaces. It is expected the development will cost around £170m to deliver, with work set to be carried out in two phases ahead of a planned completion date of August 2012.

RGU director of estates Mike Berry said: "Detailed planning approval of the new teaching and learning building is a further positive step in the university's ongoing plans for the development of its Garthdee campus."