Consultation Closing on Regeneration of Stockport Town Centre West

The Consultation period regarding the regeneration of 130 acres of brownfield land in the heart of Stockport – Stockport  Town Centre West – under a Mayoral Development Corporation is closing this Sunday, 10th March.

To create the new green urban village, the Greater Manchester Mayor has decided to consult on the creation of a regeneration company called a Mayoral Development Corporation, (MDC), a statutory body that would be created to bring forward the regeneration of Stockport Town Centre West. The MDC would have powers to acquire, develop, hold, and dispose of land and property.  They also have powers to facilitate the provision of infrastructure. 

If endorsed through the consultation, the Stockport MDC would see the creation of a Board to provide overall direction with a smaller staff structure made up mostly of existing staff seconded from Stockport Council (and potentially other partner organisations).

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester explained: 

“The Stockport MDC, which will be locally funded, will support the regeneration of Stockport town centre with a new plan for the area around the famous railway arches. It will be supported by the new Stockport Interchange – a pioneering example of how new homes, quality open space can be integrated within new public transport infrastructure.  

“If successful, we will extend the MDC approach to other towns through our existing Town Centre Challenge.

“Reversing the decline of towns in Greater Manchester is a big prize and we recognise that it will not come with an old-fashioned piecemeal approach to town centre development. We need to help councils galvanise partners around a shared masterplan and use new powers to make it happen. The great attraction of Mayoral Development Corporations is that they simultaneously allow us to tackle two big problems – town centre decline and the housing crisis. It provides an integrated solution.”

Stockport Council is reminding residents there is less than a week left to have their say about their ambition for Town Centre West to become Greater Manchester’s ‘newest, greenest and coolest affordable urban neighbourhood that is ideally placed to meet the challenges and opportunities Town Centres face.’

As a walkable neighbourhood in the heart of Stockport, Town Centre West will provide a choice of homes and workspace where residents and business will have easy access to public transport and be amongst the best connected in the region.   

As Stockport’s popularity as a place to live grows, the Council is looking to maximise the development of new homes on brownfield sites across the borough, for example at the Former Sorting Office site on the A6, reducing the amount of land they need to release for development in the Green Belt.

At the same time the Council wants to bring new homes across all tenures, and all of the supporting amenities, into the Town Centre.  

Councillor Kate Butler, Stockport Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Regeneration said:

“We need to bring new homes into Stockport for the future, but are doing all we can to protect our borough’s green spaces.  The Mayoral Development Corporation will help drive these developments, and we’re proud to be pioneering the MDC approach to brownfield development in Greater Manchester.

 “As these plans for the MDC develop, we’d like residents and businesses to have their say on how it would bring change to our town centre.”

Residents and businesses are encouraged to have their say on these important documents by visiting the MDC consultation