Hazel Grove business village secures planning approval

Planning permission has been granted for the refurbishment of Pepper House and construction of a new business village in Hazel Grove.

The business village development will see the existing Pepper House building refurbished, with the addition of a new café and business centre building, and the construction of around 60,000 sq ft of additional commercial floorspace in new-build blocks in Hazel Grove.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the planning decision was made via Stockport Council’s Urgent Action provision, rather than the Planning Committee. Planning officers had previously given their recommendation for the Council to approve the scheme.

The new business village will expand the office space available on Bramhall Moor Industrial Estate in Hazel Grove, and interest in the space has already been expressed by local businesses. In a first for Stockport, units at the scheme will be available both for rent or for tenants to buy, with management from Pepper Works. It is hoped the new offices will help to meet the high demand for commercial space in Stockport, particularly for small businesses and start-ups.

Rachel Parkinson, Site Manager for developers, Grade A Alternative Ltd, said:

We are delighted to have achieved planning permission for our scheme, which we are sure will be a real asset to Stockport. Businesses will be able to acquire their own premises in the development or rent premises, the like of which do not exist in Stockport at present. When finished we will continue to manage and run the site, which will centre around a business hub / cafe which will form the heart of the development. Stockport MBC were constructive and helpful throughout the process and really did confirm that Stockport is open for business and keen to work with developers delivering quality schemes.”

Originally built to house Maley Design and Advertising, current occupiers of Pepper House include Strawberry Radio and Care in Mind. The building’s Pepper Café will move to a more prominent location on the industrial estate in a new business hub, which will benefit other businesses on Pepper Road such as manufacturers, Starkey Laboratories and Nexperia.

Let Loose, which occupies a 3,000 sq ft play centre will be unaffected by the scheme.

Jonathan Davidson Architects are the architects on the refurbishment of Pepper House, and the planning statement was prepared by Stockport-based Broadgrove Planning and Development.