Building work is taking place around the town centre
Stockport’s green belt will be protected as the borough’s transformation continues, town hall bosses have promised.
Dozens of developments are ongoing across the town, which will add around 4,000 new homes in the coming years built on brownfield sites.
Stockport left a Greater Manchester-wide housing plan, then called the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, in December 2020 due to fears that it would turn too much green belt land into building sites.
Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link.
The scheme, which is now called Places for Everyone, aims to create new jobs and homes around the city region, with the nine other districts of Greater Manchester all signed up.
Stockport council has announced that it is creating its own local plan for housing which is due to be published next year.
Councillors from different political groups met this week to thrash out the details of the plan, which will decide where new homes could be built in future.
The move to create a Stockport housing plan has been delayed several times since 2022, while the council waited for an update to national planning laws from the government which was finally published at the end of last year.
But during a meeting this week about the local plan, Stockport’s opposition councillors said it was concerning that the local authority was leaning so heavily on the town centre for new homes.
Councillor Colin MacAlister, who’s responsible for housing in Stockport, said: “The new rules mean we can have a plan which does not build houses within the green belt to reach our housing need figure.
“We will protect the green belt and there will be no release of land within the green belt which will have housing building on it.”
Coun Asa Caton, of the Edgeley Community Association, said: “The strategy seems to be just build everything as tall as possible in the centre of Stockport and hope that meets the demand.
“But let’s be honest, there’s demand across the borough, it can’t just be in the centre of Stockport.”
Council leader Mark Hunter said he “completely rejects” claims that the local authority is only building high rise flats in Stockport town centre.
He pointed out that developments are taking place around Stockport in hulme>Cheadle Hulme and Heald Green.
Mr Hunter added: “It is a caricature to pretend that we only have a strategy for development in the town centre.”
Stockport Labour leader, Coun David Meller, said: “From my perspective, it is looking at where we are with land supply versus what we can deliver, and ultimately how many [housing] units are we looking at just going with a brownfield first approach?
“It may be a good compromise in looking at sites that are within the green belt that have already been developed, and whether that is an opportunity to deliver the additional housing that we need.”
Stockport’s regeneration includes building new apartments around the transport interchange which is due to open in March, as well as putting new homes in restored historic sites such as Weir Mill.
But the borough is facing an urgent problem with social housing, with demand for these types of properties remaining high in the town.
Mr MacAlister added: “A local plan will not address the lack of social housing, that can only be resolved by government willingness to legislate and finance the myriad of issues that’s stopping this.”
It could take until summer 2026 before Stockport’s new housing plan is finally adopted according to the council’s new timeline.
News Related
-
Asylum seekers travel in an inflatable boat across the English Channel, bound for Dover on the south coast of England (Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP) Up to 40 Conservative MPs are poised to rebel over Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation policy as they question ministers’ commitment to the scheme. A major row is ...
See Details:
Up to 40 Tory MPs ‘set to rebel’ if Sunak’s Rwanda plan doesn’t override ECHR
-
In the saltmarsh fringing where the Ballyboe River dissolves into Trawbreaga Bay, a little egret wears its plumage like a windblown stole. Our car swoops across the 10 arches of Malin bridge and we park along the village green. Malin is almost as far north as you can get on ...
See Details:
Country diary: A tale of three churches
-
Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/EPA Hampton Court is an enduring monument to the power of Henry VIII, a pleasure palace down the Thames from Westminster and the City of London. On Monday it was the scene of power projection of a different kind, as Rishi Sunak pitched for investment from some of ...
See Details:
Sunak woos business elite with royal welcome – but they seek certainty
-
-
Tottenham interested in move to sign “fearless” £20m defender in January Tottenham Hotspur have joined the race to bring an overseas defender to the Premier League in January, according to a fresh report. Postecoglou’s centre-back options The Lilywhites currently have Micky Van De Ven, Ashley Phillips, Cristian Romero and Eric ...
See Details:
Tottenham interested in move to sign “fearless” £20m defender in January
-
A £100m campaign urging households and businesses to use less water will be funded from customers’ bills, Ofwat has said. Bill payers to stump up cost of £100m water usage campaign The regulator’s chief executive David Black told MPs that if the measures worked it would be cheaper than building ...
See Details:
Bill payers to stump up cost of £100m water usage campaign
-
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 – Group B – Canada Training – Olympic Park, Melbourne, Australia – July 24, 2023 Canada’s Christine Sinclair during training REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/File Photo (Reuters) – BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, will be renamed “Christine Sinclair ...
See Details:
Soccer-Venue renamed 'Christine Sinclair Place' for Canada soccer great's final game
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Phil Taylor makes his pick for 2024 World Darts Championship winner
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Soccer-Howe aims to boost Newcastle's momentum in PSG clash
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Hamilton heads for hibernation with a word of warning
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Carolina Panthers fire head coach Frank Reich after 1-10 start to the season
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
This exercise is critical for golfers. 4 tips to doing it right
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
One in three households with children 'will struggle to afford Christmas'
-
OTHER NEWS
Kobbie Mainoo made his first start for Man Utd at Everton (Photo: Getty) The Football Association are reportedly confident that Manchester United starlet Kobbie Mainoo will choose to represent England ...
Read more »
Michael Smith will begin the defence of his world title on the opening night (Picture: Getty Images) The 2024 World Darts Championship is less than three weeks away and the ...
Read more »
For the first time a long haul commercial aircraft is flying across the Atlantic using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). A long haul commercial flight is flying to the US ...
Read more »
The King has met business and finance leaders from across the world at a Buckingham Palace reception to mark the conclusion of the UK’s Global Investment Summit. Charles was introduced ...
Read more »
After Ohio State’s 30-24 loss to Michigan Saturday, many college football fans were wondering where Lou Holtz was. In his postgame interview after the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame 17-14 in ...
Read more »
Darius Slay wouldn’t have minded being penalized on controversial no-call No matter which team you were rooting for on Sunday, we can all agree that the officiating job performed by ...
Read more »
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) Quarterback Mac Jones remains committed to finding success with the New England Patriots even though his future is up in the air following ...
Read more »