DTZ develops brief for Grand Central site

STOCKPORT Council has appointed DTZ to prepare a development brief for the Grand Central leisure complex in the town centre.

The brief will outline the council’s aspiration for the site, where it hopes to see high-spec offices, car parking and a new hotel to be built on what it considers to be a key location linking the town’s busy mainline train station with the A6 thoroughfare.

Paul Lawrence, service director for regeneration at Stockport Council, said: “This appointment reinforces our commitment to driving forward the regeneration of this important town centre site.

“It is the next step in signing up a development partner to help us attract a further £100 million investment and create 700 new jobs for the borough.

“There has already been a lot of interest from developers, so I am confident that we will get a partner on board very quickly.”

Stockport Council paid around £15m in January to buy the Grand Central site from the administrators of its previous owners, Targetfollow Property Investments. It had planned a leisure scheme for the site but did not have the funds to develop it and was placed into administration late last year after Lloyds Banking Group recalled £700m of loans it was owed.

Ken Bishop, senior director at DTZ, said: “The regeneration of Grand Central will continue the renaissance of Stockport as a commercial location and build upon the good work already started with the completion of BAM’s St Peter’s Square scheme and GMPVF’s proposals for the Former Sorting Office recently acquired from the Royal Mail Group.”