Plans for another tall residential tower in Birmingham city centre have been handed the green light but not before council chiefs took a swipe at the aesthetics of the project.
The city council's planning committee approved the second phase of work by Manchester-based developer Nikal at the Exchange Square project which will see 375 units developed in a 36-storey tower.
There will also be a 235-bedroom Premier Inn hotel in a separate block reaching up to 14 storeys, a new public square and ground floor commercial space which will include a Bar + Block restaurant.
READ MORE: {}
But members of the council's planning committee branded designs for the development in The Priory Queensway as Brutalist, claiming it was a throwback to an era when Birmingham was dominated by examples of that architectural style.
Coun Gareth Moore took issue with the rear part of the hotel which lowers from 14 to eight storeys in height.
Planning officer Simon Delahunty-Forrest told the meeting the scheme had been approved by a design panel which found it to be an "interesting response to Birmingham's Brutalist tradition".
But Cllr Moore said: "We've spent a lot of time ripping down all of the Brutalist buildings in Birmingham, which is a good thing because most of them were pretty horrendous, so it's just a shame we are going back and starting to rebuild them.
"I think we should keep to the tradition of sticking with high quality which can be seen with the other tower blocks proposed for this site.
Most Read
"This does stick out like a sore thumb, I appreciate the design panel may have liked it but I think it's pretty horrendous."
Nikal's development director Darren Jones said the project had been through 18 months of detailed discussions and pre-application meetings with planning officers.
"We have listened and amended our designs in accordance with feedback while remaining true to our architect's principles to create a development that is completely unique and worthy of its important position at the gateway to HS2," he said.
"The scheme was approved by the design panel. We have been partly inspired by the Brutiful Birmingham campaign which seeks to celebrate the city's finest examples of this architectural period rather than be ashamed of them.
"The architecture is not a pastiche of Brutalism but a highly contemporary design that casts a respectful nod to Brutalism's contribution to the city's rich architectural landscape."
Coun Lou Robson also criticised the 5.5 per cent provision of affordable housing which is against the council's policy of 35 per cent.
But planning officer Nick Jackson said the application had been through an independently verified viability assessment, adding that the public square would be costing Nikal around £3 million alone.
Birmingham's new tall towers
Don’t miss
Mr Jones responded: "We are contributing over £4 million in value in both the creation of a new city square and our contribution to affordable housing.
"Our contribution of 5.5 per cent compares with a contribution on a recently approved adjacent development site of three per cent affordable housing with a total financial contribution of £887,000.
"The new public space….will create a dynamic new lifestyle destination that can be enjoyed both day and night by all stakeholders and residents of Exchange Square, as well as workers and visitors to the city."
Construction work on the first phase of Exchange Square, known as Allegro, has just completed.
It has 603 apartments available to rent only, a gym and other commercial space.
Plans for several tall towers in Birmingham have been lodged during 2019 including the 51-storey One Eastside opposite Exchange Square and the 30-storey Stone Yard in Digbeth, both of which are being led by city developer Court Collaboration.
In Broad Street, applications were submitted during the summer for a 61-storey apartment block on the corner with Ryland Street and a 'super slender' 36-storey block of serviced apartments at 211 Broad Street which would be just 31 feet wide.