Stockport MDC appoints Head of Strategy and Operations

The Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) has announced Frances Jones’ appointment as Head of Strategy and Operations to support the delivery of 4,000 new homes in the town centre.

The newly created role will support the MDC in driving forward its plans for Town Centre West, a 130-acre and £500 million regeneration masterplan which will see the creation of new homes, quality workspace, local amenities, and radical transport improvements over the next 15 years.

Created by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and chaired by the former Head of the UK Civil Service, Lord Kerslake, Stockport MDC is leading a rethink of urban centres with an ambitious and sustainable regeneration vision that is integral to the £1billion town centre-wide transformation.

Frances will help to deliver the MDC’s £500 million Town Centre West regeneration strategy, including managing the day-to-day operations of the MDC, and will be the MDC’s lead on all stakeholder engagement. The regeneration strategy will enable Stockport to become the most sustainable, liveable, and well-connected town centre in the Greater Manchester region.

Frances’s appointment follows four years as Associate Director at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), a leading think tank that works with partners across the public, business and social sectors to progress economic interventions for people and places across the UK. Before this, Frances spent fourteen years as a senior manager at Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Tower Hamlets Council, spanning a wide range of areas covering policy, partnerships, regeneration and equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Frances Jones said,

“I’m delighted to have joined Stockport MDC at such a pivotal time, where I will be able to utilise my experience in developing and delivering innovative approaches to place leadership, inclusive economic development, and community-forward regeneration, to support this next major phase in Stockport’s transformation. It is a privilege to be part of a vision that will deliver significant change for local people, and that puts housing, employment and planet front-and-centre, and a new benchmark for town centre transformation.”

Stockport MDC has garnered strong momentum for its 15-year masterplan, completing on two initial phases including Stockport Exchange, a new Grade A office scheme and public realm enhancements in partnership with Muse Developments, and The Mailbox, which saw the conversion of the former Royal Mail sorting office into 117 new homes and workspace.

Construction has recently started on two cornerstone projects within Town Centre West, include Stockport Interchange – a multi-million-pound new transport interchange below a two-acre park – and Weir Mill – a £60million redevelopment of the town’s industrial mill into a new neighbourhood that will reconnect the town centre to the waterfront.

Paul Richards, Chief Executive of Stockport MDC, said:

“We are delighted that Fran has joined the MDC Team with her wealth of experience. I’ve no doubt she will be a major asset in helping us realise the next phase of our vision for Stockport. At the MDC, we’ve made substantial progress in just 3 years, by establishing strong relationships with private and public sector partners that share this vision. Frances will play a vital role in further establishing a collaborative approach, both with existing and new partners, as MDC moves into the next phases of our masterplan.”

The plans for Town Centre West will inject an additional £5.9 million in business rates and £117 million in gross value added into the local economy annually. More than 30 hectares (74 acres) of brownfield land in Town Centre West will be redeveloped as part of the regeneration plans.