Town centre affordable homes set for approval

A proposed 148-apartment development of affordable homes has been recommended for approval when plans come before Stockport Council’s Planning & Highways Regulation Committee.

The scheme off King Street West and Chestergate is being brought forward by Great Places Housing Group, and will deliver 101 affordable rented apartments, and a further 47 apartments offered under a rent-to-buy scheme. Homes will be split across a seven-storey building with roof terrace, and an eight-storey building which would house the majority of the homes.

Designed by architects Paddock Johnson Partnerships, the Chestergate development reflects the areas industrial heritage and looks to compliment other proposed developments in the area, adding much needed additional high-quality affordable homes to the mix.

Local councillors of Stockport Council’s Central Area Committee have already given their nod of approval to the plans for the scheme, which sits within Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation’s (MDC) Town Centre West regeneration district, and will sit alongside other apartment schemes being brought forward in the area including at Weir Mill, and Stockport 8.

The proposals for the £34 million development on Chestergate will be the Great Places Housing Group’s second site in the MDC area: their King Street West development secured planning consent and work commenced on site at the end of March 2023. Both developments will form a new gateway into the town centre from opposite ends of the regeneration area which will deliver 3,500 homes and more than 1 million sq. ft of commercial space.

Councillors on Stockport’s Planning & Highways Regulation Committee will meet on Thursday 21st March to discuss the scheme, but are expected to grant approval in line with the recommendations of the council’s planning officers. Plans for a new £350 million data centre being brought forward in Reddish by Kao Data are also on the agenda for the meeting.