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Plans to build "one of the finest apartment schemes ever seen" in Birmingham city centre have been lodged.

First mooted in March, the 49-storey 'Octagon' tower will sit next to Summer Row on the £700 million Paradise project and contain 346 apartments to rent.

It is the first residential element proposed for the long-running regeneration scheme which had been hitherto an office-led scheme.

The 510-foot building has been designed by Birmingham-based practice Glenn Howells Architects and developers claim it is the world's first pure octagon residential tower.

There will be a mix of apartments containing one, two or three bedrooms with a percentage reserved key workers at affordable rents.

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Following a public consultation earlier this year, more extensive lighting for the top of the building will be installed, making it even more visible from across the city due to Octagon's position on the Birmingham ridge.

The application site is currently home to 1980s office block 77 Paradise Circus and the Copthorne Hotel which would be demolished if the project were handed the green light by city council planning chiefs.

It forms part of phase three of Paradise along plans for up to four other new buildings.

Phases one and two in Chamberlain Square comprise in new office blocks, public realm, a redrawn traffic route around the old Paradise Circus island and a new 250-bedroom hotel with law firms DLA Piper and Knights and restaurant Dishoom among those to take up space.

Paradise is being led by a private-public joint venture with Birmingham City Council, with private funding managed by Federated Hermes and Argent as development manager.

Rob Groves, regional director with Argent, said: "Our ambition with Octagon continues to be a simple one - to build one of the finest apartment schemes ever seen, not just in Birmingham or the region, but in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.

"This ambition drives the design and execution of the building and is reflected in everything about it - the height, size of the apartments themselves and their design, the views and the location in the city centre.

"It has always been our ambition to create a truly mixed-use development at Paradise that includes not just commercial buildings, but also leisure, hotel and residential spaces that complement the buildings we have already completed. 

"By submitting our formal planning application, we now look forward to working with the city to progress the building through the planning process."

Dav Bansal, partner at Glenn Howells Architects, added: "The approach for this design is straight forward - we want to create the finest city centre homes ever seen in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, in a location that is simply unrivalled and in a building that is a part of a world-class destination.

"This building is not just a first for Birmingham and a new landmark on the city's skyline but it will be a distinct and instantly recognisable design offering homes of unparalleled individuality.

"By providing new homes at this location, we are making the most of what Paradise has to offer as well as helping set a new benchmark for healthy, sustainable and quality homes in the city."

Planning consultancy for Octagon is being carried out by the Birmingham office of Turley.