Dublin-based hotel group Dalata is to expand into Manchester's Gay Village as it presses ahead with a 20-location U.K. expansion plan.

The development, on the northern edge of the city's Gay Village, comes ahead of controversial decisions on a strategic planning framework for the area which some local campaigners fear will dilute the area's unique character.

The deal with Manchester-based Property Alliance will see the creation of a 329-bed, four-star hotel on the site of the former Co-Op office, Telephone House, at the junction of Portland Street and Sackville Street. A planning application, via a Property Alliance vehicle, has now been submitted to Manchester City Council.

The existing 13-storey block at 50 Portland St. will be demolished and replaced by a 16-storey block.

The hotel — part of the Clayton brand, according to paperwork submitted with the planning application — will be the second Dalata outlet in the city, after their Manchester Airport hotel.

The current proposal replaces a 2015 planning consent to refurbish the office block and develop a smaller hotel and casino.

Manchester was No. 2 on a list of 20 targets for U.K. expansion published by the firm in January: Edinburgh, Brighton and Bristol are among the top 5 targets yet to see deals.

Today the U.K. accounts for around 21% of Dalata's turnover.