New 37-storey student hall planned for Manchester and it’s going to be even taller than The Tower

Plans have been announced to demolish a Manchester Premier Inn to provide a 37-storey student accommodation block.

The proposal sees the creation of 1,014 student rooms in the centre of  Deansgate Locks along with a separate 13-storey building of office space.

The £250m plans come as a response to the “pressing need” for student accommodation according to hotel owner Whitbread and developer Dominvs Group.

The accommodation crisis this academic year meant some MMU students were offered £100 a week to live in a Liverpool and Huddersfield and commute to their university city.

UoM freshers within commuting distance to their university were offered £2,500 to switch to living at home in an attempt to increase the number of spaces in halls. The university said these measures were taken due to “unprecedented demand” for university accommodation.

However, work on the scheme is not scheduled to start until the end of 2023 and completion is expected to take around three years.

Jay Ahluwalia, principal director at Dominvs Group, said: “While contributing to the continued regeneration of the First Street area through new community amenities and green spaces, One Medlock will provide much-needed student housing in a city where over 50,000 students lack access to purpose-built accommodation.”