Here's everything you need to know about Yorkshire's tallest tower which will be built in Sheffield city centre

The tower is 117m high - that’s 5m taller than its nearest rival, Broadwater Place in Leeds.

It will have more than 1,200 rooms and will become a landmark on the skyline from its base at Rockingham Street.

The £100m scheme will also include a 17 storey block on Wellington Street and a 12 storey block on Trafalgar Street.

There will be 1,065 studios, 140 one bed flats and 25 two bed flats in ‘co-living’ accommodation, a relatively new concept where residents have a smaller than average private living space but large communal areas.

Will it be iconic?

Councillors on the planning board were at odds over the design of it. Coun Chris Rosling-Josephs said: “We have said for a long time we should have an iconic building.

“This is a start and we are looking to have something that’s iconic. If we don’t build tall buildings, we will be building on the green belt. I have never had a problem with high rise buildings, they are all over the world, but we seem to have an aversion to them here.”

Coun Peter Price said it was a first for Sheffield. “Most major cities in the world are going down this route to protect our green areas.

“Building up is the way to go. Developers and investors are prepared to put their money where their mouths are. It will be iconic and will look good.”

But Coun Roger Davison said: “It’s not St Paul’s Cathedral. This is not iconic, it is a utility building for people to live in.”

Small living spaces

Councillors had concerns about the small size of the units - the studios will only be 18sqm.

There’s some trade-off between the small units and the large amount of shared space which would include a gym, common room, cinema room, cafe, study rooms and dining rooms.

The studios would be an affordable price with all-inclusive rents typically less than similar schemes.

But Coun Bob McCann said the accommodation wasn’t suitable. “You are cramming people cheek to jowl and it becomes unsustainable as people don’t like to live there. We need to look at the size of this accommodation.”

Coun Peter Garbutt agreed: “I am very concerned that we need to maintain good standards of living and something about 4.5m by 4.5m is not adequate living space.”

And Coun Jack Clarkson added: “The units do seem very small and people are going to be like sardines.”

Planning officers said there were already developments in the city with units as small as this and the rooms could be amended to make them bigger in future.

Coun Tony Damms reminded colleagues that the development was aimed at students, graduates and young professionals.

“We are making the assumption people are going to live there permanently but it will be ideal for people on short term contracts.