PLANNING | Enterprise City and Toyoko secure consents

Allied London’s plan to replace an eight-storey hotel with a nine-storey office at Enterprise City has been approved by Manchester City Council’s planning committee, along with the 22-storey Toyoko Inn hotel tower in Piccadilly.

The updated Enterprise City application, submitted by Allied London late last year, refers to Building 2 in the St John’s masterplan.

The site of the former Globe & Simpson properties was previously earmarked for an eight-storey hotel, but will now feature a nine-storey 100,000 sq ft office. The proposal was approved following just a few minutes of discussion.

According to the planning statement by Deloitte, the move has been made to accommodate “the requirements of a major confirmed occupier,” and is aimed to be part of a wider Manchester “tech-hub” at Enterprise City and St John’s; however sources close to the project said a tenant for Building 2 was yet to be confirmed.

The office has been designed to act as a “hub of operations” with a single tenant in mind. Designed by Denton Corker Marshall, the project could accommodate around 700 staff and is likely to be delivered by main contractor Lendlease, which is one of the construction partners for St John’s.

The Toyoko Inn plan, deferred from December’s committee, only occupied the committee for slightly longer than Enterprise City.

The Stephenson Studio-designed hotel will be Toyoko’s first in the UK and features around 350 bedrooms. The existing Union Bank building, which has been vacant since 2006, will be refurbished to link to the new-build element of the scheme. Following dialogue with Hisotirc England, the proposals have been updated to further bring out heritage aspects of the bank building.

The site is bound by Gore Street and Chatham Street, and sits in front of the Waldorf pub and Indemnity House, across Piccadilly from the ABode hotel and B Lounge pub. GVA How is the planner for the project.

Elsewhere, the committee declared itself minded to refuse an application for a 743-space car park servicing Manchester Airport. The project involves the demolition of the two-storey residential block Heald Green House and sits close to Ashbrook Office Park and an existing 9,000-space car park. The application, from Mark Guterman’s Ensco 1174, will be heard at a future committee.