Stockport Town Centre West, Stockport, for Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation, Stockport Council, Homes England and Greater Manchester Combined Authority

The Stockport Town Centre redevelopment plans for 3,700 new homes as well as 1m sq ft of office and community space. The ​​£1b project will span over 30 hectares of brownfield to create a pedestrianised centre including a 2ha park. The ​​£140m transport interchange and rooftop park opened to the public in March 2024.

Who is on the project team? (designer, consultants, etc)

Stockport Council, Homes England and Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Describe the context of this project and the point it has reached in its development. Who was there in this place before development, where have they gone, who is there now and who will be there in future? When is the project expected to be complete?

Over the last forty years, the story of Stockport town centre has been one of abandonment, rediscovery and reinvention. A former market town, it was once an industrial hub. The town saw significant change in the 1960s with the construction of Merseyway Shopping Centre. By the early 2000s however the town was in decline with changing shopping habits and economic downturns undermining the high street retail which had become the town’s primary role. In 2013 Stockport Council moved in to create a new kind of town centre, fit for the future. The MDC was established in 2019 to accelerate progress. Its core purpose is to create an exemplar urban neighbourhood within 15 years, bringing long term vitality to the town centre by doubling its resident population, delivering much needed new homes and driving investment into its most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Almost five years on, the first phase of development is complete. In mid-2024 the MDC will welcome its first residents to the new homes and facilities. This is a pivotal moment for the MDC. While its focus has and continues to be on delivering hard infrastructure, the ultimate goal is new communities where people can live happy lives. When complete, TCW will have transformed from industrial land into a buzzy, residential neighbourhood, home to c.7000 people with the connecting infrastructure to link TCW residents and neighbouring communities to the opportunities being created in the wider town centre. 

How are you seeking to foster community, welcome visitors and attract tenants? How are you responding to changing demographics, behaviour, market context, policy, transport habits and the climate crisis since winning planning?

The masterplan for TCW reimagines the neighbourhood as an intrinsic part of Stockport town centre; by bringing this vision to life the MDC is stitching new developments into the fabric of the town. We are doing this by: • Delivering high quality public spaces which connect TCW to the town centre. These include a new 2-acre park, public walkways along the River Mersey (previously inaccessible) and a new public square opening up the viaduct arches. • Creating an exciting programme of cultural events such as Art Battle’s Party in the Car Park and the Tour of Britain. • Delivering education, health and community facilities such as a new health hub and early years centre of excellence to support the growing population of the town. • Maximising community value of land with meanwhile uses. Since the adoption of the Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) for TCW, the pandemic, high rates of inflation, energy insecurity and accelerating environmental crisis have altered the context in which we operate. The ability to recognise and adapt to these changes has been key to ensuring that the masterplan progresses. The MDC Board provides crucial expertise and leadership, combining representatives from all political parties on Stockport Council as well as national industry experts. With the Board we have evolved our approach to support the higher proportion of families living in the town centre by prioritising early delivery of social infrastructure, and incorporating shared workspaces into all MDC schemes to reflect the shift to hybrid working. 

What is your sustainability strategy and how are you mitigating carbon use and construction pollution?

Sustainability is at the core of the TCW masterplan from design to operation. By completion, more than 30 hectares of challenging brownfield land will be redeveloped. Throughout development, the MDC is prioritising minimising embodied carbon emissions by retrofitting existing buildings including the 1960s Royal Mail sorting office into the Mailbox, Grade II listed Weir Mill and St Thomas’s Hospital, and advocating for the reuse of existing materials. TCW will create a fully walkable neighbourhood with investment in new accessible walking and cycling routes, enabling reduced car dependency in the town centre. The TCW masterplan will double the amount of green space in Stockport (including the first phase Interchange park and riverside walkway) and secure the installation of green walls (including those in place at Mailbox, Redrock and Stockport Exchange schemes). The MDC has partnered with leading developers in the field of environmental sustainability, with this a key criteria in the selection of English Cities Fund as the JV partner for the development of the 1,200 home Stockport8 scheme. The MDC is harnessing the opportunities created by the scale of investment in TCW to accelerate the decarbonisation of the Stockport energy system. The team have sponsored feasibility work for a District Heat Network powered by renewable energy and serving new homes as well as large parts of the local public estate. This is pioneering decarbonisation, as just 2% of homes are currently served by district heat networks in the UK.