Stockport mulls design code to ‘win hearts and minds’
Reducing opposition to new development and optimising density are among the main aims of the borough-wide code.
Stockport Council has been awarded £120,000 from the government’s Office for Place to progress a design code covering the whole of the local authority area.
The council is now seeking to appoint a consultant to draw up the code. Tender documents published outlining the opportunity state that the code should be drawn up with input from the local community and developers.
One of the central aims of the code is to bridge the divide between developers and local communities by giving the latter a say on setting design standards in the hopes of “winning hearts and minds”, according to tender documents.
If the design code is a success in this regard, it could help the council avoid costly planning inquiries. In recent months, the Stockport’s planning committee has refused several large-scale housing schemes against the recommendation of officers, decisions that the developers have appealed.
The documents state that the design code should also aim to:
- Support emerging local planning policies, in particular, the policies which seek to optimise density across the borough.
- Begin to explore how design codes can de-risk investment in new homes and improved places by supporting mechanisms for delivery.
- Consolidate and update existing design guidance, to create a ‘one-stop-shop’ for Stockport’s design guidance and codes
Consultants have until 11 October to register their interest. The design code must be prepared by April 2025 in line with government funding deadlines.
So in future, SMBC will require all the new houses it still won’t give consent for to be of excellent design?
By Anonymous
Stockport town centre set to become quite special over the next decade. And to think, this is just one of Manchester’s commuter towns
By Anonymous
Ollier Smurthwaite are the only ones in GM with enough taste.
By SD
Oh this is excellent and quite exciting. Massive potential in this, well done Stockport
By Dan
There should be a ban on high boxes devoid of any aesthetic merit. Arches, arcades and decorations are not a crime!
By Tony Heyes.
This seems like an excellent way forward
By Diane Flanagan
40 years too late. Stockports heart has already been removed.
The planning has been laughable, just look at Red Rock
A huge carbuncle.
Stockports planners can only think about Car Parks.
By John Henshall
@John Henshall (September 21, 2024 at 1:09 pm)
Red Rock is massively successful in attracting footfall, despite its cost-saving external finish. So successful in fact that the cinema has extended since first opening.
And your comment that “Stockport planners can only think about Car Parks” is clearly incorrect because the article your commenting on is all about something else they’re clearly thinking about, and something which is a really positive step forward at that.
By Martin Cranmer
Excellent news. The proof in the pudding will be the quality of the design code (these are mandated as per the LURA 2023). But the omens are good – there’s been some truly excellent schemes either being built out or in planning. The Stopfordian take on the Flat Iron being one of them.
By Rye