Stockport about to take major leap forward

Stockport

The latest phase in the redevelopment of Stockport Council is about to be launched.

The council is reminding residents there is less than a week left to have their say on the proposed creation of a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) which could, in turn, lead to the regeneration of its Town Centre West area.

All this week TheBusinessDesk.com has been running articles looking at the regeneration of the town.

The series of articles have been run in partnership with Orbit Developments.

Plans for improve the town include the revamp of it transport interchange, improvements of the Merseyway Shopping Centre and the second phase of a major office development known as Stockport Exchange.

The councils says its ambition is for Town Centre West to become Greater Manchester’s newest, greenest and coolest affordable urban neighbourhood that is ideally placed to meet the challenges and opportunities town centres face.

As a walkable neighbourhood in the heart of Stockport, Town Centre West will provide a choice of homes and workspace where residents and business will have access to public transport and be among the best connected in the region.

And as Stockport’s popularity as a place to live grows, the council says it is doing all it can to maximise the development of new homes on brownfield sites across the borough, with developments like the Former Sorting Office site on the A6 already planned to start on site soon.

This means Stockport has significantly reduced the amount of land it needs to release for development in the Green Belt.

At the same time the council wants to bring new homes across all tenures, and all of the supporting amenities, into the town centre.

Cllr Kate Butler, Stockport Council’s cabinet member for economy and regeneration, said: “We need to bring new homes into Stockport for the future, but are doing all we can to protect our borough’s green spaces.

“The Mayoral Development Corporation will help drive these developments, and we’re proud to be pioneering the MDC approach to brownfield development in Greater Manchester.

“As these plans for the MDC develop, we’d like residents and businesses to have their say on how it would bring change to our town centre.”

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “I confirm our intention to consult on the creation of the first Mayoral Development Corporation in Greater Manchester and the first in the UK to focus on a town centre.

“The Stockport MDC, which will be locally-funded, will support the regeneration of Stockport town centre with a new plan for the area around the famous railway arches.

“It will be supported by the new Stockport Interchange – a pioneering example of how new homes, quality open space, can be integrated within new public transport infrastructure.

“If successful, we will extend the MDC approach to other towns through our existing Town Centre Challenge.”

He added: “Reversing the decline of towns in Greater Manchester is a big prize and we recognise that it will not come with an old-fashioned piecemeal approach to town centre development.

“We need to help councils galvanise partners around a shared masterplan and use new powers to make it happen.

“The great attraction of Mayoral Development Corporations is that they simultaneously allow us to tackle two big problems – town centre decline and the housing crisis. It provides an integrated solution.”

Residents and businesses are encouraged to have their say on these important documents by visiting the MDC consultation

The consultation closes on March 10.

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