New Stockport transport hub to drive regeneration

The next chapter of the Stockport town centre regeneration has been unlocked with the launch of a £140m transport interchange. Stockport Interchange features 18 bus stands alongside new cycling and walking routes to the train station. Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation, a joint venture between Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Stockport Council and Homes England, was established five years ago to bring forward the 130-acre Town Centre West regeneration masterplan. The corporation is now eyeing sites outside of the initial masterplan. Paul Richards, chief executive at Stockport MDC, said: “We are starting to look and map opportunities to drive the delivery of even more homes in the other parts of the town centre.” The corporation has an ambition to build 4,000 homes in the town centre by 2035. To date, the pipeline of sites has the capacity to deliver 2,800 homes, with 1,600 at various stages of construction, 400 of which are affordable. Richards said: “There is definitely more stock to come as part of the work we are doing at the MDC. We are talking to landowners and potential private sector developers all the time around potential new schemes.” Regeneration of the town centre to the east will be informed by existing projects within the masterplan with support from the private sector. Richards said: “We realise the council is not the expert in everything. The council’s job is facilitation and making sure things can happen. There are always going to be hundreds of challenges delivering regeneration, but we have a track record of pushing schemes forward, we have dealt with some tricky sites, and we have a great team to help deliver that. And if you find the right partner, you can get loads of stuff done, as we have shown.” Ambitious approach At the launch of the interchange earlier this week, Richards said: “The council’s initial intervention into that was not very ambitious, replacing a bus station with a bus station. This is four-and-a-half-acre site right in the middle of a town centre, why don’t we do something slightly more exciting? Seven years later it has finally came to fruition.” The interchange also includes a two-acre park built on top of the transport hub and 196 flats, developed by CityRise, which are due to complete this summer.   Burnham said: “These new connections will open up more opportunities for people to access jobs, skills and education, while supporting the regeneration of the area by attracting increased footfall and investment.” Next in the pipeline Stockport Interchange sits in the first phase of the Town Centre West masterplan, alongside Stockport Exchange, a new business district for the town, and Stockport8, a new neighbourhood. Stockport Exchange is being delivered by Muse in partnership with the council. The £145m project is almost halfway through, with detailed plans for the fourth phase to be lodged later this week. It will comprise 4 Stockport Exchange, a 60,000 sq ft of office block, with ground-floor space expected to be used for shops, cafés, bars or restaurants, as well as a landscaped approach to the train station. Stockport Exchange has already delivered two multi-storey car parks, two office buildings measuring a combined 124,000 sq ft, and a 115-bedroom Holiday Inn Express. The developers are working up plans for the remaining phases of the project, which has a gross development value of about £100m and is expected to deliver a further 185,000 sq ft of office space and the potential for up to 100 flats alongside flexible ground-floor commercial facilities and a public square. Richards said: “There is a site that is slightly detached from where the Stockport Exchange is. We are looking at whether or not we could do residential on that site. The decision is not yet made but we are exploring the possibility of residential development as the eighth phase of the project to build on the success of some of the residential development we had around the area.” New neighbourhoods The £250m Stockport 8 scheme will see the creation a mixed-use neighbourhood comprising 1,200 homes as well as space for local businesses, start-ups and community facilities. Also included in the plans are public spaces around the Stockport viaduct that can host markets, food festivals and events. Stockport MDC and English Cities Fund, a joint venture between Homes England, Muse and Legal & General, are looking to submit outline plans to the council in the summer alongside a detailed application for the first phase, featuring 420 homes. Elsewhere, Stockport MDC will continue to work with developer Capital&Centric to bring forward the restoration of Weir Mill, a Grade II listed mill building being transformed into 253 flats and a new cultural and leisure district due to complete in winter 2024.  Image © Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation