Wates Construction has sealed the £20.2 million contract to build a new 22-storey apartment tower in Birmingham.

The company will deliver the residential element of the Left Bank project in Broad Street which will also include an 18-storey hotel.

A contractor for the hotel phase is yet to be announced.

Work is expected to start this month and will see Wates build 189 apartments as well as ground floor retail space and public realm in the corner with Oozells Way.

Designed by Glancy Nicholls Architects, the new Left Bank development is expected to reach completion by summer 2018.

The plot, which is used as a car park, was once earmarked for 'Regal Tower' which, at 56 storeys, would have become Birmingham's tallest building but the project never came to fruition.

The scheme adds to Wates' portfolio of projects across Birmingham, which has recently included the development of Eastside City Park and the fit out of Gowling WLG's new premises at Two Snowhill.

Phil Harrison, managing director for the Midlands and North, said: "The scale of investment that Birmingham is currently experiencing is an indicator of ever-growing developer confidence and it demonstrates the city's integral contributions to the strength of both the regional and national economies."