Plans for 'monster' 42-storey student tower in Manchester city centre unveiled - as residents fuming

Plans to house hundreds of students and bring 1,900 jobs and apprenticeships to a neighbourhood near the Mancunian Way have been finalised. The £450m scheme includes building a 42-storey tower - which is already facing opposition.

The development would see most buildings on a stretch of Upper Brook Street demolished to make way for purpose-built accommodation for 1,837 students as well as several new blocks with laboratory and office space for life sciences sector jobs. There are also two public squares planned as part of the scheme.

However, the 42-storey tower which would house 1,100 students at the top of the site has faced a backlash from local residents in Ardwick and Brunswick. They have adopted the slogan 'Stop The Monster' in their campaign against it.

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Public consultations on the project have been taking place since March and according to the the consortium of companies behind the scheme, most of the people who took part were initially supportive of the site's redevelopment. But the level of support soon fell with concerns raised about the height of the tallest buildings planned and the number of students expected to live in them.

Documents submitted to Manchester council as part of the two planning applications relating to this development say that some changes were made following feedback from the public. Nevertheless, despite considering reducing the height of the tallest building, the 42-storey tower remains.

Explaining why, one document says: "It is recognised by the consortium that the emerging masterplan is part of Ardwick and not in the city centre. The masterplan site does, however, also sit within the