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Plans for a new multi-generational community in Stockport town centre have taken the next step forward, with decision notices now issued on plans to regenerate the disused St Thomas Hospital site.
The St Thomas Gardens scheme will comprise 68 affordable homes, alongside a 70-bed care facility, and is being delivered by Stockport Homes, in partnership with Stockport Council and Homes England. The scheme will form part of the wider Royal George Village development being brought forward by the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation, which also includes a major scheme on former parts of the Stockport College campus.
The issuing of formal decision notices on both the planning application and listed building consent for the scheme will now allow the next steps of delivery to go ahead, including the appointment of contractors for the development. Planning approval had previously been granted with overwhelming approval from councillors in March 2021, bringing the site back into use after the hospital closed in 2004.
Stockport Homes will deliver 35 apartments in the three existing grade II listed buildings, as well as 19 additional apartments in existing buildings and 13 affordable new-build townhouses; tenure will be 80% shared ownership and 20% social rent.
Alongside the residential element, St Thomas Gardens will also include the Academy of Living Well, a new build 70-bed intermediate care and dementia facility to provide support for people transitioning between hospital and home.
The affordable 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 the way in regeneration of the area using the Greater Manchester Mayor’s devolved powers. In addition to Royal George Village, developments currently being supported by the organisation also include schemes at Weir Mill and the residential elements at the Stockport Interchange transport hub.