Bredbury industrial development expected to be referred to Housing Minister

Plans for the Bredbury Gateway industrial estate development are expected to be referred to the Housing Minister, Robert Jenrick MP, due to their encroachment on Green Belt land.

Stockport Council’s Planning Committee is expected to approve proposals for the 1 million sq ft scheme put forward by developers, Quorum, in line with advise from local planning officers. The 76 acre site along the River Tame has been designated as Green Belt and was an area earmarked for development in the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework from which Stockport recently withdrew. However, developers argue the site is the best suited to deliver a scheme of this scale in the borough and no brownfield sites locally can accommodate a development on this nature. As the site is designated as Green Belt, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Minister would be required to make the final decision on whether the development can go ahead.

Plans have been amended by Quorum in light of environmental concerns and seen floorspace scaled down by 20% and green space and undeveloped areas on the site increased.

Plans now propose one development on 574,000 sq ft employment space with associated infrastructure and landscaping, as well as a car park to serve nearby Stockport Sports Village, along with two separate units totalling 429,000 sq ft. A widening and realignment of Bredbury Park Way, and relocation of its junction with Ashton Road, as well as enhancements to Junction 25 if the M60, will also take place to facilitate increased traffic from HGVs and workers.

Planning officers have recommended councillors approve the proposals, stating that the economic benefits of the scheme, which developers estimate could bring 1,600 jobs to a site close to some of Stockport’s most deprived wards, outweigh the environmental costs.

In an 11th March meeting of Stockport Council’s Central Area Committee where the proposals were discussed, councillors recommended that the Planning Committee seek further advice on the environmental and economic impacts of the site, recognising they do not have sufficient knowledge to make an informed judgement on the decision without expert input.

Stockport Council’s Planning Committee will have their say on the plans in a meeting on 24th March.