The major Manchester development that will see student skyscraper replace prominent Premier Inn hotel

A new 38-storey skyscraper for student accommodation will replace a city centre hotel in Manchester after receiving final sign off by the council. 

The Premier Inn at Deansgate Locks will be demolished in order to accommodate 1,014 students as well as a 13-storey office block. The planning committee approved the Medlock Street site back in June, and building work will be able to start. 

The 36,000 sqm of office space will be joined by a new piece of artwork, nine storeys in height – the artist of which will be decided by a competition, according to planning documents.

The student block will consist of six to seven bedroom cluster flats. The rooms would be ‘high specification’ and ‘professionally-managed’, the developer said, and meet an urgent need for this type of accommodation.

Joint applicants, Whitbread and the Dominvs Group, say they are “bringing forward proposal at One Medlock Street that will contribute to the ongoing transformation at First Street, supporting a vibrant growing community, making an attractive and sustainable setting for work, living and study”.

The scheme is expected to support 475 jobs and give a £198m economic boost during construction, and when finished, it would have room for 2,200 office jobs and contribute £1.6m in business rates a year, according to the developer.