Manchester council has given the green light to a 55-storey student accommodation tower despite the scheme receiving hundreds of objections including one that likened it to a tombstone.

The 850-room proposals, designed by Glenn Howells Architects, had deadlocked a fraught meeting of the council committee with five councillors in favour and five against.

The £130m scheme scraped through after a deciding vote in favour was cast by committee chair Basil Curley, who called it an “extremely difficult” decision.

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