Bowmer & Kirkland has restarted work on the stalled Hilton hotel project that stopped midway through construction with the collapse of builder GB Building Solutions three years ago.

The half-finished scheme has been redesigned by developer Select Property, which will invest £56m to turn the site into 273 student flats, under its Vita Student brand.

Mark Stott, CEO of Select Property Group, said: “For us, finding the right locations for our residences is key and we’ve done just that with Portland Crescent and St Alban’s Place.”

The project near the Leeds Arena was to be a 206-bedroom Hilton hotel and marked GB Building Solution’s first major foray into development.

But the firm collapsed in May 2015 leaving the project unfinished as a concrete frame. The project was part-funded by a taxpayer-backed loan of £4.8m from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership.