Stockport College gains approval to build 210 homes
STOCKPORT College has secured planning permission to build 210 homes on land it owns at Heaton Moor.
The college, which was advised by Ludlam Associates, gained outline permission for the homes at a council planning meting on Thursday.
The college said that its current outline application was intended to demolish all of the existing buildings at the former North Area College campus and to gain access routes into the site, which also includes some employment land adjoining the neighbouring Whitehill Industrial Estate. Decisions on the layout, scale and appearance of houses would be reserved for a future application.
The college now intends to sell the land as part of an ongoing rationalisation. It had planned to multi-million pound redevelopment of its main campus in Stockport town centre in 2008 but a subsequent withdrawal of government funding forced a rethink.
It has subsequently decided to sell six other sites it owns in Stockport and one in Wigan, and will invest the proceeds into its town centre base.
The college’s application states: “The disposal of the site in Heaton Moor will provide much needed funding to help the College achieve its aims of building upon its recent successes and further developing the Town Centre Campus into a 21st Century learning facility.”
Approval was granted subject to certain conditions, such as 20-25% of homes being earmarked for affordable housing and replacement sports pitches and facilities being provided.
