Confirmed: £60m boutique hotel in 'exceptional' location near Manchester Airport WILL be built

Plans for a £60m boutique Dakota hotel next to Manchester Airport have been given the green light. The hotel chain was given approval by Manchester city council’s planning team under delegated powers.

The 154-bedroom hotel is expected to inject approximately £12m a year to the local economy, with 150 jobs for local people. It will have a gross internal area of 84,000 sq ft. It will be the second in Manchester for Dakota Hotels, complementing its city centre hotel on Ducie Street, and will be located off Enterprise Way on a three-acre plot at Mix Manchester.

Enabling and preparation works are already underway on site and contractor GMI Construction is lined up to start construction works shortly. Dakota Hotel Ltd managing director Andrew Ovenstone said: “This is an exceptional location for the latest hotel in our northern portfolio.

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“Not only is it strategically placed next to one of the busiest airports in the world, but it will be central to the development coming forward across the Mix Manchester site.” The joint-venture partnership behind Mix Manchester comprises Columbia Threadneedle Real Estate, Manchester Airports Group (MAG), Beijing Construction Engineering Group International (BCEGI), and Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF).

Speaking on behalf of the partnership, Gareth Jackson, group property director for Manchester Airports Group, said: “Dakota securing planning for their new hotel is another great milestone for us. It’s a superb brand, one which closely aligns with our ambitions and vision for the forward-thinking companies that we’re aiming to attract.

“It will provide an exceptional standard of accommodation and high-quality service for both employees and for some of the 28 million passengers who travel through the airport each year.” The Mix Manchester Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) is currently out for public consultation and will see the creation of the UK’s first airport-based science, innovation, and manufacturing campus.

Designed by KPP Architects, the new Dakota Hotel will also include a premium bar and brasserie-style grill on the ground floor and will provide 130 car parking spaces and a dedicated shuttle service to and from the airport terminals. The facility will join other new amenities at Mix Manchester, including additional hotel and leisure facilities and extensive public realm, all of which is designed to complement the development’s wider masterplan which comprises 2m sqft of high-quality science, innovation, and advanced manufacturing space.

The site is ‘shovel-ready’, with £30m of joint venture capital already invested in highways and utilities infrastructure, including a new pedestrian bridge linking to the main airport site. A wide range of buildings will be available, including advanced manufacturing, research and development, laboratory and office spaces with the creation of up to 8,000 jobs.

Asteer Planning advised Dakota Hotels.