At Stockport Council, we are focused on creating opportunities for everyone.
We’re an ambitious borough, and I’m incredibly proud to see that my home town is evolving and growing as we reimagine Stockport as a place we can all be proud of.
Whether that’s through our work with adults to help keep them in their homes and living independently, our work with children and young people to give them the very best start in life, or our ambitious regeneration projects that create jobs and places for people to enjoy – all our colleagues work hard to create opportunities for the people of Stockport to thrive.
This is especially important in the face of the current cost-of-living crisis.
And so, our vision statement was born: ‘Ambitious Stockport, creating opportunities for everyone’.
New investors, residents and businesses recognise this potential and our £1 billion investment in the town centre is at the heart of this.
We now have several significant schemes underway and more in the pipeline, ensuring that Stockport is a great place now and for future generations.
We already benefit from first-class connectivity, but this will get even better with the arrival of a new multi-million-pound transport interchange.
As well as being Metrolink-ready, it will include a new two-acre rooftop park, a riverside walkway, and new high-quality apartments. Creating new green spaces is at the heart of our vision, helping to support biodiversity and improving the quality of life for our residents.
Regeneration isn’t about buildings
One point I always stress is that regeneration isn’t just about buildings; it’s about people, families, and communities.
We’re future-proofing Stockport, creating newly integrated neighbourhoods shaped for the future. We’re committed to transforming our town centre and breathing life into Stockport. And we’re on track to deliver more than 7,000 new homes and invest in local facilities and services for everyone.
Our plans include the following:
- opening up access to the River Mersey
- investing in schools and health services
- improving public transport and creating new walking and cycling routes.
We’re delivering this through our pioneering Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), the first of its kind outside London, allowing us to deliver our plans at pace.
MDCs are statutory bodies created to bring forward the regeneration of a defined area. They have powers to acquire, develop, hold and dispose of land and property, and have powers to facilitate the provision of infrastructure.
The Stockport MDC is leading the way nationally as a blueprint for how town centres can be transformed to benefit their communities and the wider economy.
The MDC’s ability to ramp up delivery has increased over the last year through its ongoing relationship with Homes England and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and through the appointment of three nationally recognised delivery experts to the board.
All of this ensures that we are well-placed to continue delivering on the ambition the people of Stockport, the council’s political leadership, and the Greater Manchester Mayor share for the future of the town centre.
Welcoming new residents
Attracting a new generation of residents looking for somewhere to put down roots and call home is at the forefront of our plans.
We want to create opportunities for all, and one part of that is by working with innovative developers such as Capital & Centric Ltd, who are now on-site to deliver their £60 million vision to create a vibrant community at Stockport’s historic Weir Mill, a sensitive restoration as we re-establish our town’s rich cultural heritage.
Other plans include the development of St Thomas’s Gardens, which will include a dementia facility for residents. A multi-generational neighbourhood with housing for social rent and shared ownership will be created by transforming the listed former workhouse and infirmary buildings.
It’s work such as this that allows us to be ambitious for Stockport by redeveloping large areas of the town that were previously run down and in need of attention.
Attracting new businesses
The market confidence we continue to see despite national crisis after crisis over the past few years is enormously encouraging, and it’s not by accident: it’s by design.
The council is continuing to attract first-rate businesses to the town centre.
Due to the increasing demand for high-quality office space, the next phase of the Stockport Exchange will soon be complete, working in partnership with Muse Developments.
Three phases of the development have already been successfully delivered, with a hotel, an NCP multi-storey car park and two stunning office buildings with ground-floor retail.
Legal firm ONP, BASF, Music Magpie and Stagecoach are just some of the important businesses that have all seen the potential of the development due to its accessible location.
And it’s not just new businesses that we are proud of; our new economic plan for the borough, co-designed and based on extensive analysis and engagement, launched in December, commits to supporting our many businesses to thrive and grow and also sets out how we will improve the lives of our residents.
Creating the proper infrastructure and support so everyone can access improved education, training prospects and career opportunities ensures we continue to prosper and create opportunities for all.
While we are incredibly proud of our ongoing regeneration, we’re also experiencing challenges on the high street, as is the rest of the country.
We are tackling it head-on, improving our leisure and retail facilities and town centre shopping centre. We’ve worked hard to diversify our offer and bring more people into the town centre, giving them more reasons to visit.
We’re putting Stockport back on the map.
Celebrating our cultural heritage
Our iconic Stockport Underbanks area showcases the true essence of Stockport, delivering new public spaces for our community to come together, celebrating our rich cultural heritage, knitted together with a diverse hospitality offering and budding new businesses.
The area has benefited from a £7 million investment. We’ve redeveloped several properties in the area and let them out on preferential terms to tenants while preserving and improving the physical heritage of the area, as well as supporting local businesses and community groups to organise art installations, concerts, and other events.
Further secured funding in the Underbanks will create a sustainable, world-leading digital arts neighbourhood to form a new creative campus, working with Manchester Metropolitan University and MadLab.
I’m proud of what we have achieved so far, with much more that I could write about and still so much to do.
But I’m confident we have the right plans, people, and passion for creating a place where people want to live and spend their leisure time. It’s an exciting time in Stockport’s history.