Proposals to construct a 55-storey skyscraper with more than 850 student flats in Manchester will be voted on by the city's planning committee next week.
The £130m scheme has been heavily opposed by residents living nearby and Deansgate councillors, with critics saying it looks like a 'tombstone' and a 'caramel wafer', according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Applicant GMS (Parking) Ltd is seeking approval to demolish and rebuild the multi-storey car park on Great Marlborough Street and construct a tower housing 853 student flats.
A decision on the planning application was due last month but the planning committee voted for a site visit to get a better idea of how the development will impact on surrounding areas.
The meeting on January 23 heard objections from people living in the Macintosh Village residential community off Oxford Road, some of whom own spaces in the car park.
A barrister employed by residents has suggested that the tower would violate property rights and that residents would be entitled to seek an injunction if planning permission granted.
Manchester planning officers, who have again recommended the scheme for approval, told the committee that such issues were not a material planning consideration.
But councillors were urged by objectors to consider the 'overdominance' of the building, which would become one of the tallest in Manchester.
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Mike Halley, chair of the Macintosh Village Management Company, said the positioning of the tower would mean residents would be left facing onto a windowless 165m brick gable end.
Since the last planning committee meeting a more detailed objection has been submitted by the Macintosh Village Management Company.
The objection describes a collection of CGI images submitted with the plans as 'misleading' as they show neighbouring buildings as outlines instead of 3D models.
Some of the pictures also show the tower as being translucent or white in colour as opposed to the red brick that is being proposed.
"The verified views do not assist the public, the planning process or committee members," says the objection.
"They mislead, they are not real-world images of the current environment nor close to representing their own building."
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At the last meeting the planning committee also heard that during the consultation GMS suggested that students would be paying £275 a week for the accommodation.
A report to the planning committee on February 18 suggests that the price point has not yet been decided, but there are indications that it would be 'competitive'.
The University of Manchester is opposed to the development while Manchester Metropolitan University now supports it, having previously objected.
The report written by planning officers says: "The scheme would bring a high-quality building to the Oxford Road Corridor which would respond positively to the local environment and not unduly harm the setting of nearby listed buildings."