Stockport Unveils Vision for Town Centre Living

Stockport has revealed its vision and ambitious town centre living strategy at the first Stockport Town Centre Living Summit.

Property professionals and stakeholders joined Councillor Alex Ganotis, Leader of Stockport Council, and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, in Redrock’s new The Light Cinema where they heard about Stockport’s ambitious vision for town centre housing.

The role of town centres is fundamentally changing. In the mid-late 1900s, suburban residential developments were building communities away from the centres; with a move away from the dominance of a retail offering, today’s town centres need to revert to build strong communities – places where residents can live, work, play and connect. 

Public reaction throughout the consultation period of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, which outlined major plans to build thousands of new homes on areas of greenbelt, spurred Andy Burnham to re-assess the GMSF plan, taking a more holistic view to combine the demise of town centres in their current guise with the need to build new homes and address the UK wide housing shortage.

Ground breaking for new homes at Covent Garden in Stockport town centre 

Investment in Stockport town centre is already delivering new residential developments – like the White Lion restoration and Covent Garden Village – and improved public spaces; the public have been asked to help to identify brownfield sites that have the potential for redevelopment. Bringing more, high quality homes, open spaces and amenities to the heart of Stockport is set to stimulate a more integrated, vibrant community. 

Andy Burnham broke the news that Greater Manchester has just been announced as the top region for growth in the UK in respect of employment and relocation. In support of the region’s continued success, Mr Burnham described how the agenda for town centre living is gathering pace, including his Mayoral powers of compulsory purchase to unlock Brownfield sites across Greater Manchester and access to a £50m fund.

He said:

Stockport’s impressive plans for redevelopment, as outlined in their Town Centre Living Summit, are mirrored by the council’s ambitious and innovative Town Centre Challenge nomination. We’re doing things differently here in Greater Manchester, and I want urban areas across all 10 boroughs to benefit from increased investment and renewed town centre living, remodelling our proud towns for the future.

“Stockport’s plans demonstrate a clear and unambiguous ambition to become a key urban centre in South Manchester and, using my new powers as Mayor, I will lend my support in any way I can.”

Stockport Council’s priorities to achieve its town centre housing potential are to

• Secure further investment into Stockport town centre
• Help resolve potential barriers hindering the development of sites
• Establish design standards for all future developments and open spaces, making Stockport an even better place to live, work and visit for residents both now and in the future

Councillor Ganotis, Leader of Stockport Council said: 

Town centre living is changing and the demand for homes in the heart of Stockport is continually growing. This is great news and presents significant opportunities for us right here, right now to continue with our development work, making Stockport a vibrant and popular place to live, work, play and connect 24/7.

“We want to make sure that we are in a position to capitalise on this demand, and that Stockport becomes the leading town centre living location in South Manchester. At the Town Centre Living Summit we set out how we will work in partnership with investors, developers and the Mayor to accelerate our vision of new quality homes, amenities and open space for Stockport town centre.”