Planning permission has been secured for the 25,000 sq ft development in Liverpool Road, which will comprise 42 bedrooms as well as a bar and restaurant. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool developer and hotel operator Signature Living has unveiled plans for a new hotel in Manchester themed around the city’s infamous Quality Street gang.
Planning permission has been secured for the 25,000 sq ft development in Liverpool Road, which will comprise 42 bedrooms as well as a bar and restaurant. The hotel will include artefacts and memorabilia from the Quality Street era of the 1960s and 70s.
It will be the latest project from Signature, founded by Lawrence Kenwright, which is behind Liverpool’s 30 James Street and Shankly Hotels as well as the forthcoming Dixie Dean Hotel, opposite the Shankly in Victoria Street.
In late March, Mr Kenwright unveiled an ambition to create 1,500 new jobs with projects in the pipeline in Belfast, Cardiff as well as plans for a Signature Living cruise ship, which will be located in Spain.
There has been much debate in Manchester about the Quality Street gang which was allegedly a group of hardened criminals operating in the city in the 1960s, 70s and into the 80s. However, others believed the it was no more than a group of friends, pointing out that none of its supposed members were ever convicted of any serious crimes.
Mr Kenwright said: “We’re incredibly excited to announce plans for our first significant hotel development in Manchester. The Quality Street Hotel will become a real destination for history lovers and those intrigued by the mystery surrounding Manchester’s Quality Street men for which there still remains a great interest.
“This is also going to be a quality development. The 42 rooms will have a boutique feel to it and we’re confident of making the bar and restaurant a popular choice for those enjoying a night out in Manchester city centre.
“Work on the development will start this summer and we’re aiming to open by spring 2020. Eventually, we would like to operate the equivalent numbers of bedrooms in Manchester that we do in Liverpool, as we have the capability to cater for up to 2,000 guests a night in Liverpool alone, which will soon rise to 2,700.”