Planning permission has been approved for Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP (Rockspring) to build Birmingham's tallest office tower at 103 Colmore Row, with development partner Sterling Property Ventures (Sterling).

Birmingham City Council has given Rockspring approval to demolish the 22-storey, 1970s-built NatWest Tower, which has been unoccupied since 2003, and replace it with a new £60m 26-storey landmark building.

Eric Linden, European Director at Rockspring, said: "We have been encouraged by the support for our plans for this landmark development, from the people of Birmingham and potential occupiers, as well as from the City Council and other stakeholders."

At 346 feet high the new tower will be the tallest office building under construction in the UK outside London and will comprise 200,000 sq ft of Grade A office space over 19 floors with floorplates of up to 12,000 sq ft.

At street level, plans include a winter garden, a café facing Colmore Row and a retail unit fronting Newhall Street. At the top of the building there is provision for an 8,600 sq ft restaurant with a 3,250 sq ft 'lantern' space offering 360-degree views of the city.

The permission to build the new tower is subject to certain standard conditions and includes a contribution of circa £265,000 to fund local transport work and employment training.

Work on erecting the new tower will begin in summer 2016, creating five hundred construction jobs and completion is targeted for summer 2018.