Stockport Council is set to decide on proposals for a refurbishment and expansion of the Pepper House business centre in Hazel Grove.
The proposals were submitted by the sites owners and property managers, Pepper Works in October 2019. Plans for the scheme include refurbishment of the existing Pepper House building, and the construction of a new office building, and a new business hub which will house an expanded Pepper Café in a more prominent location on the wider Bramhall Moor Industrial Estate. The Let Loose play centre also on the site is unaffected by the proposals.
The proposed business village, if approved, would add over 60,000 sq ft of B1 office space, suitable for small businesses and start-ups, which the planning statement reports is currently in high demand, with some interest already expressed by local businesses.
When first built, the main Pepper House building won awards for its environmentally sympathetic design in the 1980s. Before being converted to managed offices, the building housed Maley Design and Advertising, a full-service marketing, print and photographic agency and one of the UK’s first fully digital photographic studios. The former 3,000 sq ft studio is now occupied by the Let Loose soft-play centre.
Approval for the scheme has been recommended by planning officers, with a decision due via Stockport Council’s Urgent Action provision, rather than the Planning Committee, on Tuesday 19th May.
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.