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The Beetham Tower has been knocked off the top spot as Manchester’s tallest building - by a mere 20cm.

The iconic 47-storey skyscraper has lost the title after more than a decade.

The South Tower on Owen Street is now 0.2m higher.

Last week, work on the shell of the building reached the 54th floor.

It now stands at 169.2m tall, with another 33.3m - 10 storeys - to go.

(Image: UGC MEN)

The skyscraper was designed by architects SimpsonHaugh - the same firm that dreamt up the Beetham Tower.

A spokesman for construction company Renaker Build confirmed the South Tower is now the tallest building in Manchester - and the tallest residential structure outside London.

The South Tower is now also the eleventh-highest building in the UK.

The tower will stand at 202.5m by October, with Renaker estimating another 18 to 20 months before it is fully fitted out.

It is just one of four towers planned as part of the Owen Street project.

Three of the blocks, including the South Tower, are currently under construction.

The West Tower is nearing completion. It stands at 122m and 44 storeys - smaller than the Beetham Tower.

The four towers - part of a cluster on a stretch already dubbed ‘Skyscraper Alley’ - will be 64, 50, 44 and 37 storeys high and contain more than 1,500 flats.

The Beetham Tower became the Manchester’s tallest building in 2006, overtaking the CIS tower, which had held the crown since 1962.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Owen Street’s South Tower won’t be the tallest in the city for long.

The enormous 67-storey Trinity Islands block, off Liverpool Road, close to the old Granada Studios will reach 213m once it is finished.

Plans were approved by Manchester council last summer, with construction due to start later this year.

Several other mammoth blocks are planned for the city centre.

A 52-storey, 168m-high skyscraper will be built as part of the St John’s Development.

There are also proposals for two towers on Crown Street, between Chester Road and the Mancunian Way, one of which will be as tall as Blackpool Tower at 51 storeys.

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