Green light for St Thomas Gardens development

Stockport Council has given the green light to a proposed residential scheme, St Thomas Gardens, that will repurpose the former St Thomas Hospital in the town centre.

Councillors expressed enthusiastic support for the scheme, which comprises 67 new homes and a 70-bed care facility, for its model of multi-generational living, as well as bringing the grade II listed hospital buildings back into use after over 15 years of derelictions. Councillors on the Planning & Highways Regulation Committee were unanimous in approving the scheme being proposed by Stockport Council and Stockport Homes, echoing the thoughts of the Central Area Committee earlier this month.

St Thomas’ Gardens will form part of the larger Royal George Quarter, one of Stockport MDC’s flagship neighbourhoods proposed for the town centre, alongside the redevelopment of former Stockport College buildings by Investar.

Stockport Homes have proposed 67 new homes, including 54 apartments within new and existing buildings, as well as 13-new-build townhouses on the site.  80% of homes will be made available through shared ownership, with the remaining 20% for social rental.  Following approval, work on the development is expected to get underway this Spring.

The Academy of Living Well, a 70-bed intermediate care and dementia facility is also planned for the North-eastern end of the site.  The facility will support those transitioning between hospital and the home; in approving the scheme, councillors praised the inclusion of care on the residential site, and the work the home would do towards further integration of health and social care in the borough.

The new homes on-site will contribute to Stockport MDC’s vision of delivering 3,500 new homes and transforming Stockport Town Centre West into the region’s ‘newest, coolest, greenest’ urban neighbourhood. The MDC was established in 2019 to lead regeneration of the area using the Greater Manchester Mayor’s devolved powers.