£3.5m bill as Stockport council buys more town centre shops

A council is to spend £3.5m buying up shops in the hope of transforming its ailing town centre.

Stockport town hall hopes the move will pave the way for a new leisure complex.

The plan would see six units on Princes Street pass into council ownership.

Bosses hope that buying the shops – currently owned by bank UK Asset Recovery – will give it more control over regenerating the area. The purchase is the latest in a string of similar moves by the council.

Last year, it spent £9m buying the lease on department store Debenhams, also on Princes Street, as part of the same project.

Last year, it paid £15m for the Grand Central area around Stockport station after its developers went into administration.

Within the next three years, it wants to move Grand Central cinema down the road to Bridgefield to create an ‘evening economy’ in the town centre.

The council – which is currently consulting on £16m of cuts for next year – says it is an essential part of its town centre master plan.

Coun Iain Roberts, executive member for regeneration, said: “It’s important we try to bring the cinema into the town centre and that we have an evening economy for Stockport and inject a bit of life.”

More than one in four shops in Stockport town centre are empty. Earlier this year it won £100,000 of money overseen by retail guru Mary Portas to turn its fortunes around.

It is hoped the Bridgefield leisure development – including bars and restaurants as well as a cinema – will replace the Great Egerton car park to the north west of the town’s main shopping centre and help increase footfall to the town centre.A new car park would be built on top.