The development of a new 12 storey Meininger hotel in Manchester has been given the thumbs up by councillors - having been told to go away in November because the panel felt there was too little disabled parking provision.
Planning has now been granted for the 212-bedroom hybrid-hotel scheme that will be located in Great Ancoats Street.
The developer’s representative told councillors they have doubled the number of spaces for disabled parking, which it believed was an ‘excellent’ offer in an area with good public transport links.
Members thanked them for listening to their concerns about accessibility, with Newton Heath councillor John Flanagan describing it as a ‘much-welcome investment in the area’.
Expected to open in 2022, the hotel will be run by the German operator Meininger, which already has branches across Europe, including in Austria, Belgium and Denmark, as well as London.
The scheme will be built between Pollard Street and Advent Way, filling in a gap in development along that stretch of the inner-ring road in New Islington.
Ann Scott, managing director of development company S Harrison, said: “Like Meininger, it’s our first scheme in Manchester.
"Attracting a unique operator like Meininger, and building a superb new hotel on such a prominent site, will deliver the last piece of development on this remaining parcel of land between the Fabrica office building to the North and residential developments to the South.
“This site, which is just a 10-minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly station, is ideally suited to a hotel provider, and our considered and planned approach has bought a new type of hotel to the city that will ultimately benefit the local economy.”
S Harrison was advised by planning consultants Turley.
The firm worked with Manchester-based architect, 3DReid, to create the attractive design, incorporating double height glazing at the ground and first floor, providing an eye-catching, attractive street frontage.
Meininger has 29 hotels in 17 European cities and opened its first UK hotel in London’s Hyde Park in 2006. It has plans to open another hotel in the north in Liverpool as well as at other UK sites including Belfast, Cambridge, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
