Former Royal George Village project in Stockport on track for 2026 opening
Cityheart has renamed the 442-apartment development Stopford Park and added a landscaped Art Park to connect the four buildings.
PP O’Connor is currently conducting enabling works on the site, having started in late 2023. The project is on track to open in phases during the course of 2026.
The three-acre former Stockport College Campus was initially being redeveloped by Investar under the brand Royal George Village. However, the developer collapsed in March last year.
Cityheart purchased the £120m project before the end of the year in a deal negotiated by Savills.
Now, Cityheart has revealed its vision for the site, which is supported by a £9m Greater Manchester Combined Authority brownfield grant.
Cityheart is redeveloping the former college campus into a series of apartments. Credit: Cityheart
Much of Investar’s work has been kept, with the Art Park and the new name being the notable changes. The scheme’s bolstered public realm has been designed by Layer.studio.
As under the original DAY Architectural plans, the 115,000 Torkington building will be reworked into 112 apartments. The 60,000 sq ft Lyme Centre will be demolished and replaced with a 258-apartment, 16-storey block called Lyme. A third block comprising 62 homes will be a new-build and the first to be ready for residents.
Cityheart has also maintained Investar’s wish to convert the grade two-listed former Metropolitan Girls’ School into a coworking space. This will be named Cheers & Smith, to pay homage to the original architects of the building.
Cityheart has brought on Sheila Bird Studio to design the brand and interiors for Stopford Park.
Jon Humphreys, creative partner at Sheila Bird Studio, said: “Stopford Park is a place for all Stopfordians to live work and socialise. It’s a place for a community to put down some roots as the town looks to the future with optimism and pride.
“Cityheart are building homes, not ‘investment units’ and the new landscaped gardens at the centre of the neighbourhood will be there for all to enjoy,” he continued.
“Culture is major catalyst for urban regeneration and Stockport is thriving with creative talent. Stopford Park will feature a selection of art installations, a creative thread that celebrates culture and connects our neighbours with The War Memorial Art Museum and the Stockport Art College.”
Cityheart group chief executive Jonny Wrigley said Stopford Park was “firmly rooted” in both the town and its history.
He added: “It is in a superb location for commuting and accessing the town centre and is right next door to Stockport’s historic War Memorial Art Gallery.
“Its design has been informed following lengthy consultation with Stopfordians including local businesses, residents, creatives, and artists and it will deliver a thriving new neighbourhood with homes for people to live, spaces to work and places to socialise.”
I await this with bated breath
By PB
Another park? The Council can’t look after those it already has. Look at the vandalism and poor maintenance in Woodbank Park.
By John Fidler
What’s the actual story here? Just a name or is there something more meaningful to update on?
By Time
As the story states, the name and the park are new.
By Julia Hatmaker
Very nice to see housing but I hope you are going to do the garden around the art gallery
By Dale hart
How many more apartment blocks Stockport going go look like concrete city and will people be able to afford them
By Anonymous
Amazing, hopefully they’ll invest in Castle Street, Edgeley at the same time. It’s way overdue!
By Anonymous
Clogging the town up.enough is enough.There is nowhere to park already.
By Anonymous
Stockport: no Green Belt release, no Green Belt release, only brownfield development please.
Also Stockport: no more urban parks as they aren’t maintained and what about all the cars in our gridlocked Town.
By Irony
@John Fidler – I doubt the council will adopt it, at least if they did it would be with a hefty contribution to cover future maintenance. More likely is that the developer will set up a management company who maintain the park and all other communal areas of the development.
By Anonymous
More people in the centre equals fewer cars, this is the way forward.
By Pablo
Pablo, that’s very simplistic and not really based on anything
By Anonymous
Is this my old school Greek Street High for Girls so sad I loved that place
By Brenda
All the moaning in these articles on Stockport development is about cars, GPs and schools. Note there is no parking here, the residents won’t need it. Right next to the 192, five minutes walk from the train station, loads of office developments where they could realistically be working, and a couple of minutes away from the bus station and what will hopefully be a Metrolink stop. Younger people don’t want cars as much, they want everything they need on their doorstep, walkable and to have nice amenities nearby, which the council to it’s credit is delivering on. The world is changing, people want to live in towns and cities more and more and avoid commuting. Which, if you think about it, is how things used to be.
By PH
I’ve lived here for 20 years and the bus stop on Greek Street towards the Armoury has never had a propper bus shelter and Seats despite there always being a lot of people waiting for buses. This is because there has been a big wall and shrubs there as part of the college.
Given there appears to be no parking for the residents at this development it would be nice if a substantial bus shelter with propper seats was put in here.
This development has had 9 Million pounds of government Grants so it would be nice the existing residents and the new ones got a new bus shelter out of it.
Also, there are major roadworks scheduled over the Armoury Roundabout coming up next year (2025-2026) because the entire roundabout is being excavated to install a new tunnel for the railway
By Mark on Thomson Street.
Another welcome addition with plenty of green space, people here won’t need cars as it’s so close to public transport, this is the way forward and Stockport is leading the way, ditch the cars and move into the centre.
By Pablo
What about Local residents who already live here facing this building site! who inhale all the dust from the building site including children and elderly people with health conditions! Living near this site is hell ! Constant reoccurring chest infections our homes shaking from all the crashing and banging of rumble for the last 3 years! This is about money not community
By Anonymous
Why has the name been changed from royal George gardens to stopford park royal George far nicer name and adds a bit of culture to Stockport stopford park quite bland
By Anonymous