Plans for a £15m Express by Holiday Inn hotel in Manchester have been approved by the city council.

Muse Developments has secured permission to build the 192-bedroom hotel as part of the fifth phase of its £100m mixed-use Smithfield scheme in the city's Northern Quarter - a joint venture with Crosby Homes. The Northern Quarter site will also include a new 1,330sq m public square and the scheme includes art galleries, offices, bars and cafés, retailers and a £26m 230-bedroom Crowne Plaza hotel, which was completed in 2008.

"Smithfield was largely impenetrable some years ago," said Muse project director, Mike Payton. "And the new Smithfield Square will improve access from the north and south, enlivening and enhancing the area." Construction work is expected to start on site in October of this year. The hotel is scheduled to open early 2011.