Simpson & Haugh鈥檚 plans for UK鈥檚 second tallest building among bumper crop of high rise approvals
Manchester鈥檚 skyline is set to grow further with the approval of six new towers including a 34-storey hotel designed by Bennetts Associates.
The city council voted in favour of the 251-room aparthotel along with five more Simpson & Haugh-designed residential towers at a planning committee meeting yesterday evening.
Designed for the Lamington Group, the hotel will be built on a prominent site on Piccadilly on the busy route between Manchester鈥檚 main railway station and the city鈥檚 central shopping district.
The partly vacant site also includes a grade II-listed former bank building that has been unoccupied for over a decade. The five-storey Union Bank building, which was built in 1912, will be linked to the tower and contain guest rooms and amenity spaces under the plans.
Bennetts said the listed building was in urgent need of repair and restoration to safeguard its heritage for future generations.
Historic England, which worked closely with Bennetts on the design development, has voiced concerns about the height and design of the tower, which it said would 鈥渁lter how the listed building is understood and be experienced and would distract from the appreciation of its handsome architectural character鈥�.
But the heritage advisor fell short of tabling an official objection to the scheme and said it welcomed the retention of the building鈥檚 ground floor layout and existing features such as stained glass and marble panels.
Bennetts said the proposals will 鈥渂ring the listed building and vacant site back into active use, breathe new life into this urban block, significantly improve accessibility, and positively contribute to the unique historic setting while introducing a distinctive new building at an important gateway into the city鈥�.
Yesterday鈥檚 council meeting is also set to see another transformation of the skyline around Great Jackson Street, which is already home to eight Simpson & Haugh-designed towers rising to 65 storeys.
The latest five towers for developer Renaker will add 2,388 homes and include the city鈥檚 tallest tower yet at 71-storeys, which would be the second tallest building in the UK behind the Shard.
This tower will contain 642 homes and will neighbour a separate application site containing two new 51-storey towers and two of 47 storeys.
The combined development value of the two applications is expected to be around 拢1bn with the project team also including Deloitte, WSP, Curtins, GIA and Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture.
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