Why Stockport’s success story is far from finished

For more than a decade, Stockport and its partners have been changing the face of our town and borough. Through the UK’s largest town centre regeneration programme, we are still creating new opportunities for our residents through new homes and jobs, new places to work and play, and a renewed sense of pride in our place, writes Paul Richards of Stockport Council.

Over the past few years in particular, people across the country have started to take notice, with it becoming increasingly clear that Stockport is one of the North West’s real success stories.

The scale of delivery speaks for itself. From the moment you step out of the train station, you see it in action at Stockport Exchange – our thriving business district, home to leading national and global employers with over 2,000 people working here. More than 1,300 new homes have been completed or are on site, with a further 1,300 coming forward as part of our plan to deliver 8,000 homes in the town centre by 2040.

That growth is supported by a multi-award-winning transformed transport interchange with a rooftop park, improved public spaces, and thousands of new jobs. This is long‑term, place‑led regeneration that has already reshaped how people live, work, and spend their time in Stockport, showing what can be achieved in partnership with developers and local businesses.

What really excites me is that it doesn’t stop at the town centre boundary. While it’s at the heart of what we’re doing, we’re also investing right across the borough and backing multiple areas with the same level of bold ambition.

Take Cheadle Eco Park, a £25m project that started on site this year. It’s hugely important for the borough and the wider region, creating a green light‑industrial park that sets exemplar standards for sustainable construction and paves the way for future green industries, quality jobs, and long‑term economic growth. Crucially, it gives innovative businesses the space to expand locally, helping retain talent, and nurture home‑grown enterprise.

In Marple, we recently marked the topping out of Marple Hub – a major milestone for a £20m community facility that supports everyday life for local people.

And then there’s Stockroom, which has just seen its millionth visit in less than a year, contributing to more than 11.5m visits to Merseyway shopping centre in 2025, a 15% increase on the previous year. Few projects capture Stockport’s approach to regeneration better. By repurposing underused space on the High Street as a cultural and creative centre, we’ve brought families, young people, and communities back into the town centre.

Stockroom forms part of our coordinated intervention of Merseyway alongside the Innovation Centre, flexible office space at Stok, and anchor retail tenants, combining culture and business for a shopping centre that works for people and the economy together.

This commitment to inclusive growth also means making sure local people benefit directly from investment. Our regeneration programme is creating around 1,000 construction jobs each year, and through the One Stockport Construction Hub, we’re connecting contractors with a skilled local workforce, helping residents access opportunities as the town continues to grow.

Our approach helps explain why Stockport keeps appearing in national headlines. The Sunday Times named us the Best Place to Live, while we’ve also been hailed as the best place to retire and the best place to buy your first home. From the Manchester Evening News to the Daily Mirror, publications have highlighted Stockport as a leader for urban renewal, calling it a blueprint for how proud towns can turn the tide and reshape their future.

Looking ahead, we’re building on that success with a focus in the east of the town centre, guided by the Strategic Regeneration Framework. This isn’t just about housing numbers, important as they are, but about delivering complete, sustainable communities. That means social infrastructure delivered alongside development, not bolted on later. Plans include a new town centre secondary school and a state‑of‑the‑art healthcare hub, embedding education, health, and community facilities into the fabric of the place from day one.

A key reason we can deliver at this scale is the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation. Since launching in 2019, it has more than proved its value. Its recent expansion to cover the entire town centre is nationally significant – it is the first MDC to expand following Parliamentary approval and the first to cover a whole town centre. It provides the focus and pace needed to deliver long‑term regeneration, and I’m delighted to see Lord Gavin Barwell as the new chair to help lead the next phase.

The next major scheme, in partnership with ECF, is Stockport 8, which is a powerful example of moving from ambition to delivery. This £350m, eight‑acre development beneath the historic viaduct will create a highly walkable neighbourhood with energy‑efficient homes, vibrant public squares, and strong connections to surrounding areas.

After more than 15 years of progress, Stockport’s story is far from finished. I’m incredibly proud of how far we’ve come and the momentum we’re seeing in the town centre and the wider borough. What we’re delivering today is the result of commitment and a collective belief in Stockport’s future, one that transcends political cycles and market shifts. It gives me great confidence in what comes next and as redevelopment reaches new heights, we’re pleased to be at UKREiiF sharing our journey with partners old and new.

• Paul Richards is the deputy chief executive of Stockport Council