Planning approved for skyscraper which will be Stockport’s tallest building

North West Developer, Urbanize Homes, has secured planning consent for an exciting new development of contemporary apartments in Piccadilly, Stockport.

The decision was made by Stockport Council yesterday (November 22).

The stunning town centre development with a gross development value of £30m, will be a new landmark mixed-use development within the town centre, consisting of 164 apartments across 14 storeys with retail space on the ground floor currently earmarked for a coffee shop and parking on the lower ground floor.

Upon completion, The Place will be the tallest new building in the area, providing a range of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and penthouses.

Developers say homes will feature futuristic styling, superb specification and exquisite design, offering modern city centre living at its best and setting a new benchmark for Stockport.

With funding secured and work to commence on site in April 2019, Skelmersdale-based CPUK have been awarded the contract to build, while property services firm Cushman & Wakefield and local agent Julian Wadden have been appointed as joint selling agents.

Sal Arya, managing director of Urbanize Homes, said: “Demand for quality new homes within Greater Manchester has been consistently strong in recent years and we are delighted to have secured planning consent for The Place, without question an immensely positive stride forward for Stockport and the future of the town.

“Historically, previous projects undertaken by Urbanize Homes have become exceptional places for individuals to both live and work.

“We take meticulous care in designing homes that complement both their surroundings and natural landscape and we are immensely excited about being in a position to have a defining influence about how the Stockport skyline will forever be shaped.

“This is the third, and by far the most significant, project that we have undertaken within Stockport to date, a town that we have great confidence will continue to develop and prosper over the coming years, a town that has an extremely bright future.”

Despite the London residential market stagnating over the past 12 months, the market in Greater Manchester continues to gather strength.

Latest statistics from the LendInvest Buy-to-Let Index report propose Stockport to be the second-best place in which to purchase a buy-to-let investment in the UK, overtaking Manchester, while the latest research from Cushman & Wakefield shows Stockport outperforming Greater Manchester in the 12 months to September 2018.

House price growth in Stockport has been higher than the Greater Manchester average, with 6.9% growth against 5.3%, respectively – the average house price in Stockport is 33% higher than the Greater Manchester average.

Average private rents in Stockport are 9.6% higher than Greater Manchester, and 21.2% above the North West regional average.

House price inflation is expected to rise by 36.9% in five years, compared with 35.5% in Greater Manchester.

Stockport is currently undergoing extensive regeneration with an estimated £1bn being spent on transforming the town centre and surrounding areas.

Greater Manchester is now the UK’s largest and fastest growing economy outside of London and one of Europe’s most dynamic and exciting cities, making Manchester and Stockport excellent investment options.

Julian Cotton, associate director of Cushman & Wakefield, said: “In recent years, Stockport has experienced significant redevelopment and investment into a range of projects that deliver jobs within the local community, improvements to local infrastructure, new homes, and a significant boost to the local economy.

“The multi-phased regeneration of the town centre has been of fundamental importance upon the growth in desirability of Stockport as a place to both live and work, a platform that has had a transformative effect upon town centre living.

“Coupled with superb connectivity into Manchester city centre and London, Stockport is fast becoming one of the most accessible and sought-after locations within the North West in which to live, making The Place an enormously attractive residential opportunity to a wide spectrum of potential purchasers, from first-time buyers seeking to use Help to Buy, young professionals unable to afford the growing prices of Manchester but looking to locate themselves within a 10-minute commute of the city centre, to investors whose principle requirements are strong capital growth and robust rental yields.”

The Place is situated on the edge of Stockport Conservation area, on Norbury Street, at the end of Piccadilly, close to Wellington Road South.

Previously Greenhale House, The Place has been designed by Manchester-based Day Architectural.

Andrew Smirthwaite, director at estate agents Julian Wadden, said: “I have been close to this development for a long time now and I am very excited to see the finished product.

“Urbanize Homes have put forward a great design which is very much in keeping with Stockport council’s vision for the new, vitalised, town centre. I envision The Place to be a marker which all future residential developments will aspire to.”

Externally The Place benefits from large windows and balconies with off-white GRC cladding on the lower levels, reflective of its setting close to The town hall, and engineered metal cladding on the upper levels providing lightness and giving it a contemporary edge.

Internally, homes will be carefully crafted to complement the ambitions and aspirations of the everyday modern home seeker.

The development sits within landscaped grounds and, as the tallest residential building within the town centre, will provide exceptional views over the ongoing regeneration of the town centre and the green hills of the Peak District beyond.