Stockport launches next chunk of £1bn town centre regen
The town’s mayoral development corporation plans to form a joint venture to deliver Stockport 8, an eight-acre site earmarked for a £250m “digitally-capable, walkable neighbourhood” comprising up to 1,200 homes.
Stockport 8, which could also feature retail and leisure uses alongside offices, is located off Daw Bank, west of Stockport Viaduct, and incorporates the Stagecoach depot.
Stockport MDC will launch a procurement exercise for the £250m opportunity this summer.
“This new site offers an exceptional opportunity to be part of one of the leading regeneration projects right now, not only in Greater Manchester but across the UK,” said Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester Mayor.
“Stockport is already one of our best-connected business locations. The MDC is a powerful tool to bring about rapid change, and is set to add £117m to the local economy every year.”
He added: “I have no doubt that Stockport will be recognised for generations to come as a benchmark for what can be achieved through place-focused, locally-led regeneration.”
The scheme forms part of the 130-acre Town Centre West. Credit: via Coverdale Barclay
Stockport 8 is the next phase of the MDC’s £1bn regeneration strategy for the area known as Town Centre West.
As well as Stockport 8, the 130-acre district features the redevelopment of Stockport Interchange and Weir Mill.
In total, the MDC plans to deliver up to 4,000 new homes and 1m sq ft of new employment space over the next 15 years.
To date, Stockport MDC has developed more than £175m of development since 2019, including offices at Stockport Exchange, and the Mailbox, the town’s first build-to-rent scheme.
“The potential in Stockport is unparalleled,” said Lord Bob Kerslake, chair of the Stockport MDC.
“In Stockport Town Centre West we are not just building new homes and creating new jobs, we are enabling sustainable, long-term inclusive growth for the region.”
He added: Our vision and principles, the cross-party political support and knowledgeable and experienced board and partners means we are well-placed to deliver meaningful change that will ensure Stockport prospers for years to come.”
Click any image to launch gallery
- Credit: via Coverdale Barclay
- Credit: via Coverdale Barclay
- Credit: via Coverdale Barclay
Stockport’s preoccupation with green roofs continues. They could go a lot taller further back from the viaduct.
By the light of the moon
Let’s hope for a riverside walk
By Paul Eden
Good to see all the work continuing in the town centre but when are the abandoned shops in front of Exchange Square going to be demolished They are an eyesore in front of a great looking square
By Anonymous
I too shudder in disbelief at the sad run down state of Stockport town. It’s an eyesore and has lost its heritage to abandoned buildings and dirty streets. Shame the council don’t encourage trade in to the town instead of building flats and the Stockroom which no one wants.
By Anonymous
Fair enough building more homes, but people will still need shops !
By Janet Owen
I moved to Stockport some 35yrs ago. I used to love going into town, the shops, the market, the overall facilities used to be great. Now it’s like a ghost town and no amount of money will make it any better. To tell you the truth I can’t remember the last time I went in, although I live 10-15 mins away. The town is to fragmented, why was the Peel Centre allowed to prosper when the centre of town was dying on its feet. For me there’s to many derelict areas to make it a great shopping experience, no big name stores to entice people back. Best to pull the precinct down and make a play/park because I can’t see it getting any better.
By Joyce Taylor
We don’t want a housing tower monstrosity blocking out our wonderful heritage known as the Stockport Viaduct. It would be an eyesore.
By Jean R.
Make sure not to get horrible colours again like them block of flats and redrock. More green areas would be nice.
By Anonymous
I think the bus station with park is going to be great, I agree about Merseyway but Underbank and Market Sq are starting to look good
By Ian Brooks
A laudable enterprise but I hope you have arranged for full cover CCTV and police presence. Remember the Grand Central became a no go area at night.
By Geoff Straw
Excellent!
By Martin
Terrible architecture what’s all the domes about!all for the regeneration but redrock is a carbuncle design from the seventies come on Stockport you can design better
By Anonymous
What we need is shops not stupid cycle paths. You can’t get even a pt milk or any groceries in Mersey Square. Eldery people can’t walk to asda from bus station. Please make the centre worthwhile going to more like 60s when the town was great. It is a dreary town now
By Valerie Concar
Still no trams
By Neil
Brilliant, let’s bring in hundreds more cars and then Burnham can force through his chargeable CAZ
By Anonymous
Poor design people walking on top of roof NO wall / handrail, prone to jumpers and kids throwing stuff off . WHO THINKS these designs up?, no idea of real life. Give us some realistic designs.
By Na
I know we need housing but the pandemic as shown people want houses with out door space specially those with children, and older people don’t want to in high rise flat
By Live in edgeley
What are all the goal posts for?
By Anonymous
A lot of points being (deliberately) missed by some commenting on this. The council can’t just decide to bring in a major retailer to encourage people to shop in Merseyway – big retailers won’t be interested unless they are guaranteed enough trade. And what do you know? – building 1200 homes right next door to the retail area, with a potential population of 3000+ (and more still in other bits of town centre west and the wider town centre), will do just that. They’ve got to get the design right – and these initial sketches are probably nothing like it’ll look at the end – but the principle of increasing the population to help make the area’s commercial activity more viable is absolutely the right thing.
By Gethin
This looks brilliant. Stockport is certainly leading the way when it comes to town centre regeneration. It isn’t going to be a thriving retail town like it once was, no similar town centre is that any more. We’ve got to reimagine what we do with these spaces, making use of them for residential, leisure and public services is the right way to go. Stockroom will be fantastic at delivering public services, all under one roof, in a more central and accessible location. It will repurpose empty retail units and bring people into the town centre. Residential developments in Town Centre West, the Underbanks, the former Sainsbury’s site, former Peacocks site, Royal George Village and the redevelopment of Stockport College for residential purposes makes sense. To support the remaining retail left and possibly attract more, they will need to know footfall will be maintained, making the town centre the local shops for 4000+ people will support that. STOK and Stockport Exchange are bringing a new range of office jobs into the town centre, further increasing footfall. And while people might not like the look of Redrock, nobody can say it hasn’t been a success, it has exceeded all trading predictions since it first opened and you can tell that by the cinema expansion soon after opening and it’s always busy. The Underbanks and Market are thriving again, the Produce Hall has been very successful for the market, which is fully let, and is surrounded by thriving independent bars and restaurants. The Underbanks is coming back to its former glory, the public realm looks fantastic, the heritage buildings coming back into use is fantastic, the new wall murals are beautiful and now we know the Underbanks has been designated a new ‘Cultural Quarter’ with funding and a link with the Universities. In terms of Merseyway, once STOK and Stockroom are completed, they will really add to the regeneration of the area. But the public realm investment happening now and the fourth coming redevelopment of the old BHS unit will really add to that. Obviously, the new interchange and public park is going to be incredible, there’s nothing like that anywhere else, it’s very unique.
So all these complainers need to embrace change, see that since 2016, when the council change administration, there has been a real drive to invest in the town centre and give it a new lease of life for the future, is it complete? No, it’s going to take many years but you can start to see green shoots of positive change coming through. The last administration left the centre to rot. Now it’s looking good and there’s more to come!
By Anonymous
“Anonymous goal post” these are called acoustic deflectors for resi developments, ie irritant noise from the A6, the train station and over head flight path!
By cba
This is an encouraging development. Although the design is basic (this is really a function of the market economy rather than Stockport’s lack of interest in design), the form and density looks good. Every town centre has suffered from huge retail decline and SMBC should be congratulated on doing something positive to create new neighbourhoods. No-one can magic big stores back again. And cycle lanes are not ‘stupid’. Look at every successful town centre in Germany or Scandinavia. They all have liveable, walkable neighbourhoods with lots of cyclists and frankly a better quality of life than most of our towns. The people who live in the new flats will, of course encourage new shops and facilities – different than before, but all going in the right direction. Now let’s convert the old library into a Wetherspoons!
By Pete
I am a big fan of the giant yellow desk lamp.
By Skinny Pedro
@cba – aren’t the goalposts just the overhead cabling supports on the railway?
By and by
Stockport’s ambition in the town centre and the MDC area, bit by bit, area by area, is really improving the whole place. I can only encourage Joyce Taylor to come into the market place and Underbanks, join the queue for Sam Buckley’s new bakery on the Underbanks, check out Sophia’s Vintage shop next door, see if you get a table at Mekong Cat, or find a Rare Mag to read, honestly, just see for yourself the steady progress that’s being made.
By Michael Taylor
A lot of people moaning in the comments about how bad the town centre is and remember it much fondly 20-30 years ago etc. But then funnily enough in the same comment they say they’ve not even been to visit for 10 years. It’s not perfect by any stretch but I challenge you to walk around the new bits and up near the market and little underbank and tell me it isn’t an incredible improvement.
Too many folk in this country sit in their old houses tutting at people walking past and peering through their rose tinted spectacles at how great life was. Well I’ve got news for you, it wasn’t as good as you remember it, and now we are getting £1Bn spent and people still have nothing better to do than MOAN. Bore off.
By Jack W
Absolutely awful…..no style at all …. Just like Hulme and moss side when they redid that and it had to be done again…..No thought of the heritage or of design.
By Beryl Wilson
I despair at such profligate spending when a vast acreage of the town centre is redundant or derelict. Some of it for decades!
By Nystagmic
Is it near Mcr airport?
By George
Stockport Town centre is a sight for sore eyes. Pound and charity shops everywhere!!
By Christine Stanley