Stockport Council’s regeneration committee will meet next week to sign off what it describes as a “critical” land swap. The deal will see land for some of Stockport 8’s 1,200 homes freed up, the relocation of the town’s ambulance station, and the creation of a new ZEBRA bus depot.

Stockport Council plans to take control of the current Ambulance Service facility at Travis Brow, where it wants to build a replacement depot for its fleet of electric buses.

The other half of the swap will require the ambulance service to move to a new-build facility on a former Hazel Grove park and ride site. Stockport Council has agreed to fund the development of the ambulance station.

The new bus depot at Travis Brow is required as the current one, located nearby, was acquired by the council in 2021 as part of the Stockport 8 land assembly process. The plan is to knock it down and build homes.

English Cities Fund was selected by Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation’s delivery partner for the scheme earlier this year.

With ECF on board, a planning application for the £250m scheme – which will see the creation of a digitally enabled, green, and fully walkable mixed-use neighbourhood – is expected to be submitted in summer 2024.

Cllr Colin MacAlister, cabinet member for economy, regeneration and housing said “This is a really important component of the council and Mayoral Development Corporation’s vision for delivering new homes and jobs in the borough.

“The brand-new ambulance station will provide better coverage for our residents which will in turn enable a new all-electric bus depot with 170 electric buses at Travis Brow and 1,200 new homes in Stockport 8. All of this will be achieved through partnership working with both the public sector – NWAS, TfGM and GMCA – and ECF.”

Stockport 8 forms part of the council and the MDC’s ongoing regeneration of the area west of the town centre.

Overall, the plans for the Town Centre West will see the creation of up to 4,000 homes, 1m sq ft of employment space, major public transport improvements, new green space, and local amenities over the next 15 years.

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Applicant Ian Griswold has submitted outline plans to Stockport Council requesting permission to demolish the existing office buildings at Westwood Trading Estate and create an 85-bedroom facility. 

The buildings, located close to a nearby Morris Homes housing development, are derelict. The site is a magnet for antisocial behaviour, according to Stockport Council’s community safety team. 

The former Westwood Trading Estate was home to call centre operator Call 24/7 until 2008 when US-based WNS arrived. The business management firm left in 2010 and the site has been vacant since. In recent years, the site has been the subject of “persistent calls” to emergency services due to anti-social behaviour. 

“Youths drinking, taking drugs, and starting fires” are listed as issues recorded by the unit on the site. 

A planning statement prepared by Civitas Planning states that the applicant has approached the council and developers of high-dependency housing units “in order to gauge general direction regarding the need/demand for care home facilities within the area”. 

Green Sky Architecture is advising the applicant on the scheme. 

To learn more, search for reference number DC/089395 on Stockport Council’s planning portal.

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Here’s a brief overview of the larger schemes Stockport Council voted on. There were no big surprises at the meeting, with all decisions made in line with the planning officer’s recommendations.

Lambert House

• Application reference number: DC/087432

The former AA office in Cheadle is set for new life as an apartment complex after Stockport Council voted to approve plans for its change of use.

Featherfoot Lambert House, an SPV set up by Empire Property for the project, will convert the 60,000 sq ft office building into 98 flats with coworking space and a gym. The flats will be divvied up between the complex’s two blocks, which are linked by a footbridge.

The taller of the blocks, which is four storeys, would hold 68 flats, while the shorter, three-storey block would have 30. None of the 98 apartments would be designated as affordable.

The proposals also include 109 spaces for cars to park, of which 10 will be designated for disabled users. There will also be 100 cycle parking spaces and 10 spaces for visitors to leave their bikes.

DLP Planning is the project’s planning and heritage consultant, with subsidiary Sustainable Development and Delivery providing transport consultancy services.

The project team features DMS Architecture, Mason Navarro Pledge, Environmental Noise Solutions, Weddle Landscape Design, and August Consulting Group.

Read more about the project.

Tilbury Douglas Construction is the main contractor for Laurus Grace. Credit: via planning documents

Hazel Grove High School

• Application reference number: DC/088293

With a green light from Stockport council Hazel Grove High School’s netball and tennis courts are set to be relocated to make way for a new, two-storey SEND school.

Known as Laurus Grace, the 12,900 sq ft educational facility would boast seven SEND-specific classrooms and 10 general ones.

Laurus Grace will be built on land currently occupied by the netball above and tennis courts, as well as playing fields and overflow parking. In addition to the school building itself, the project includes 47 car parking spaces, of which two will be designated for those with disability and six will have electric vehicle charging points. The provision for disabled parking proved contentious at the committee, with officers asking for conditions to be added that would increase the number of spaces.

Designed by Pozzoni Architecture, Laurus Grace will have the capacity for 80 pupils and 45 members of staff.

The Department for Education has recruited Tilbury Douglas to build the school. ICENI Projects is the planning consultant for the scheme. The project team includes Pegasus Group, TACE, and AJP.

Read more about the project.

TADW Architects designed the affordable housing project for Stockport Homes. Credit: via planning documents

Site of former 1-19 Higher Hillgate

• Application reference number: DC/087511

Stockport Homes has secured the go-ahead to demolish a vacant warehouse and construct a 24-unit apartment block off Higher Hillgate.

The project, which is dependent on Homes England grant funding, will comprise 17 two-bedroom flats and seven one-bedroom ones.

Car access to the brick apartment block would be from Higher Barlow Road. The project includes 17 spaces for cars to park, of which three are for those who are disabled. There is also provision for cycle parking and electric vehicle charging.

TADW Architects designed the project for Stockport Homes. Joining TADW on the project team are landscape architect TEP and structural and civil engineer Wilde Consultants. DTPC is the transport consultant, AEC is the noise expert, and WSP is the advisor on contaminated land. TWC is the energy consultant. Roger Hannah is charged with viability calculation.

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Stockport Council has recommended that Empire’s Cheadle scheme be approved by its planning and highways committee, which meets on Thursday. 

A report by Stockport Council’s planning department states that the scheme “would make a substantial and valuable contribution to the council’s housing supply when there are insufficient available and deliverable housing sites in Stockport to meet and maintain a five-year housing land supply position”. 

Built in the late 1980s, Lambert House comprises two blocks. Block A is to be converted into 68 flats, while block B is earmarked for another 30. 

The properties would be a mix of one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments. No affordable homes are proposed. The development would also feature a gym and co-working space. 

DLP Planning is advising Empire on the scheme. 

To learn more about the project, search for application reference DC/087432 on Stockport Council’s planning portal. 

Empire Property Concepts submitted plans for the conversion of Lambert House in December 2022.  

Since then, the company, headed up by Paul Rothwell, has changed its name to MCIOD Ltd and appointed administrators. The company collapsed with liabilities of £10m. 

Lambert House is held by a separate Empire SPV set up in March 2022 called Featherfoot Lambert House. The vehicle acquired the building and adjoining surface car park for £6.275m in October 2022, according to Land Registry. 

A viability appraisal submitted with the application states that the site’s benchmark land value is £2m, the scheme would cost £17.4m to build, and has a GDV of £18.9m. 

The AA vacated the 60,000 sq ft Lambert House last year, relocating to Orbit’s Park Square, and appointed Avison Young to find a buyer. 

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Seashell Trust was granted outline planning permission for the redevelopment of its Stanley Road special educational needs complex in April 2020 following a successful appeal. 

The first element of this vision, the £23m Royal School Manchester, is complete. 

The next stage will see a 55,000 sq ft college complex built on a 2.4-acre chunk of Seashell Trust’s Cheadle Hulme campus. 

Designed by Faulkner Browns Architects, the scheme would feature classrooms and sports facilities, as well as space for administrative and training functions. 

The existing college building would be demolished. 

A structural survey carried out this spring uncovered the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, which was once commonly used in construction but has now been found to have structural issues. 

As a result, staff and students at the college have been forced to move out of the building and are currently based within the former school building, Dockray, which became vacant when the new school opened earlier this year. 

The sudden relocation has caused significant “operational challenges”, according to a planning statement prepared by NJL Consulting. 

“The trust must carry out and complete the next phase of the transformation project as swiftly as possible to reduce the harm and negative impact to its students,” NJL said. 

To learn more, search for application reference DC/089288 on Stockport Council’s planning portal. 

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The group has submitted a hybrid application to Stockport Council asking for full permission to replace its existing  103,300 sq ft Cheadle Hulme college with a new 68,000 sq ft facility, a 34% decrease in size. It is also seeking outline permission for residential development on the old site.

Designed by Arcadis, the scheme would be split into three parts: the delivery of a new-build teaching facility, upgrade of existing sports facilities, and redevelopment of part of the site into residential.

Development would be phased to allow the existing college to operate while the replacement is constructed.

New-build college

The current Cheadle College building is too large for the college’s requirements and is inefficient in terms of sustainability and energy.

Trafford College Group’s plans would see the existing building demolished, with the retention of the sports barn for refurbishment, and replaced with a new three-storey facility.

The new college would be made up of two teaching wings and a central corridor, built on vacant land next to the current building.

On the ground floor, visitors would find a 1,800 sq ft dining room, a 2,000 sq ft learning resource centre, and a 100 sq ft sensory room.

Proposals for the first floor feature seven vocational classrooms ranging from 400 sq ft to 500 sq ft, along with a 700 sq ft ICT lab and two 800 sq ft science labs.

Moving up to the second floor, the college would provide eight health and social care classrooms ranging from 600 sq ft to 900 sq ft and a 900 sq ft early years nursery.

The existing sports facilities (left) would be revamped. Credit: via planning documents

Sports facilities

Cheadle College’s existing 170,000 sq ft sports barn would be retained.

Plans would see improvements to the existing 6,400 sq ft ground floor sports hall, 700 sq ft gym, and changing facilities.

The upper floors are currently used as sports teaching spaces and will be transformed to provide two sports classrooms and a dance studio.

Outside, the college’s existing playing field is ‘not recognisable as a playing pitch’, according to a planning statement. Proposals would see this replaced with a two-acre all-weather artificial grass pitch.

The group is asking for outline permission for up to 64 homes. Credit: via planning documents

Residential development

The final stage of the development would see up to 64 homes delivered on land made available through the demolition of the old college buildings.

This element would come forward after Trafford College Group agrees the sale of the land to a housebuilder, who would carry the outline application further.

Outline plans suggest homes would be split between one- and two-bedroom apartments and two- and three-bedroom terraced houses, along with three-bedroom semi-detached, and four- and five-bedroom detached houses.

The group ran a consultation on the proposals in June.

WSP is the planning consultant for the scheme. Also on the project team are Abacus, Clancy Consulting, CBO Transport, WML Consulting, Tenos, and Aran Acoustics.

To find out more about the plans, search for application number DC/089265 on Stockport Council’s planning portal.

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Senior living developer McCarthy Stone has submitted plans to Stockport Council to deliver 32 one- and 22 two-bedroom flats on the vacant two-acre plot off Bramhall Lane.

Designed by The Design Collective Architects, the scheme would see the demolition of the 9,400 sq ft Trinity Methodist Church and 2,300 sq ft scouts hut on site to make way for the development.

Proposals for the complex feature a residents’ lounge and a guest suite, as well as mobility scooter storage.

Residents would also have access to an emergency helpline in each apartment and communal area, as well as a lift to all floors.

There would be 40 car parking spaces available, including four disabled bays.

McCarthy Stone held a consultation on the proposals in June.

Ian Wilkins, divisional managing director at McCarthy Stone, said: “Our proposals for Davenport would help to address a demand for retirement accommodation in the area, providing housing choice for older people, whilst freeing up the wider housing market for local families and first-time buyers further down the chain in an area with high demand for these types of homes.

“The site is ideally situated with public transport links to local shops and amenities nearby, enabling residents to maintain their freedom and live independent lives”, he added.

“Our residents typically use local shops and services daily, or often, and would provide a welcome boost to business in and around Stockport, helping to support local retail jobs and keep shops open.”

The Planning Bureau is the planning consultant for the scheme. Also on the project team is landscape architect TPM Landscape, arboricultural consultant Keen Consultants, and ecological consultant E3P. Transport Planning York is the transport consultant.

To find out more about the plans, search for application number DC/089009 on Stockport Council’s planning portal.

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Marple baths was forced to close in 2018 when it was deemed unsafe and work to knock down the venue is due to begin this October. 

Stockport Council has lodged an application for the demolition of the former Marple baths.  

The closure of the facility gave added impetus to the pursuit of a modern complex, a long-held ambition of Stockport Council. 

The authority failed in its bid to secure a contribution from the Levelling Up Fund for the project in 2021 and bid again in the second round. 

The government initially knocked back that bid too, before announcing it would give the council £20m for the project at this year’s spring Budget. 

A planning application for the new community leisure facility is expected before the end of the year. 

Subject to approval, construction work could begin in summer 2024 and the new facility could open in the winter of 2025. 

The scheme, designed by GT3 Architects, will feature a swimming pool, library, gym, community space, fitness studio and play park, along with walking and cycling routes linking the hub to Marple town centre. 

To learn more about the demolition proposals, search for reference DC/089228 on Stockport Council’s planning portal.

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The developer and the council will head to appeal this autumn with MAN hoping to overturn the refusal of its 200-home scheme, which would provide 100 affordable properties and a 43-acre park.

The council’s planning officers had said the redevelopment of the 67 acres MAN owns in Hazel Grove should be approved.  

However, the planning committee voted against that recommendation in December due to concerns about the loss of open space. 

The land to the north of MAN’s Stockport head office was once a golf course and has been owned by the company for 60 years. At present, access is only permitted via public footpaths or with prior consent from the owner. 

In May 2021, MAN agreed in principle to transfer 43 acres to the Land Trust, allowing it to be used as a public park should the project be approved. 

The balance of the site would allow for 10 acres to be developed for housing and 11 acres to be allocated as open space to service the homes. 

MAN wants to sell the residential land and use the proceeds to reinvest in the business. 

A letter from MAN to Stockport Council sent 12 months ago said that the company would spend the money on upskilling its workforce and upgrading its buildings as part of the firm’s shift towards green technologies. 

The letter also warned that if the authority did not approve the proposals, MAN would “sell the land to a developer”, who may want to build more than just houses on the site. 

The preservation of a large chunk of Mirrlees Fields for publicly accessible space is one of two main arguments MAN has put forward to support its appeal. 

The site does have various protections. It is classed as strategic open space in the core strategy and “green chain” in the unitary development plan in a part of the borough lacking in alternative greenspace. 

Another reason the developer says the scheme should be approved is that Stockport Council does not currently have a demonstrable five-year housing supply.  

A statement of case prepared by consultant Asteer Planning states that the council has not delivered enough new housing in recent years. 

The inquiry will begin on 31 October. 

The Mirrlees plans, consulted on in 2020 and lodged in outline in summer 2021, have been controversial from the outset, rousing local opposition. 

A petition launched by the campaign group Protect Mirrlees Fields has garnered more than 5,000 signatures to date. 

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Eamonn Boylan will act as interim chair while Stockport MDC commences its search for a more permanent chair. Boylan is no stranger to Stockport, having acted as chief executive for the council for six years before taking up his post at GMCA.

Boylan has extensive expertise in regeneration, having started Stockport’s current regeneration programme when he was chief executive and, prior to that, leading national regeneration programmes as the deputy chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency.

Stockport MDC was created by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to help drive revitalisation efforts in the metropolitan borough.

As interim chair, Boylan will be driving the delivery of Stockport’s 130-acre Town Centre West masterplan – a vision that includes 4,000 homes, a new business district, a transport hub, public realm, and much more. English Cities Fund was announced as the delivery party for Stockport 8, one phase of Town Centre West, at UKREiiF this year.

Kerslake had been leading this project before his death at the start of this month from cancer. Upon the announcement of his passing, tributes poured in paying homage to Kerslake’s impactful public service career.

Boylan acknowledged his predecessor’s legacy in a statement about taking on the interim chair position.

“While it is under incredibly sad circumstances that I take up this role, I am honoured to advocate for the MDC and bring my experience to this role to ensure we continue to build on the fantastic foundation Lord Kerslake created for Stockport,” Boylan said.

“I look forward to working with our public and private sector partners to make Stockport one of the most sustainable, liveable and well-connected town centres in the country.”

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said Boylan would “serve as a vital bridge between the Stockport MDC and the GMCA”.

“Eamonn Boylan will act as a strong ambassador for Stockport MDC, bringing invaluable knowledge and a deep understanding of the town and its community from his previous experience in Stockport,” he added later.

Cllr Mark Hunter, Leader of Stockport Council, said: “Under Eamonn, the MDC will honour the legacy of Lord Kerslake and continue to deliver against the ambitious vision to create a thriving Stockport, ensuring iconic projects such as Stockport Exchange, Interchange, and Weir Mill stay on track, enabling us to deliver a vital new transport hub, business district and new homes to the town.

“Beyond this, the coming months will be crucial to the shaping the next phase of development in Town Centre West, including the exciting masterplan for Stockport 8.”

• Read Subplot’s take on MDCs

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THIS WEEK

• Mayoral methods: are mayoral development corporations the future of high-profile urban regeneration?
• Elevator pitch: your weekly rundown of who and what is going up, and who is heading the other way

MAYORAL METHODS

Political ambition meets economic reality

Can mayoral development corporations deliver the economic transformation that city region mayors – and Michael Gove’s Levelling Up Department – want to see? Or is Stockport a standalone success?

City region mayors are under pressure to produce economic results, so they are throwing regeneration strategies at the wall to see what sticks. Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and Tees Valley have gone down different routes. So far only one approach has been tried in more than one region: mayoral development corporations – bodies with statutory powers to guide development and investment in their areas. Is the experiment working?

This is tricky

Answer: it’s complicated, as a glance at the existing MDCs in Stockport and South Tees quickly reveals. South Tees MDC has spread much happiness so far. The touted £3bn opportunity at Teesworks attracted criticism, and is now enduring a government-commissioned review into how it shuffles assets around. The project itself has a long way to go: the Teesside Steelworks was demolished only a few weeks ago. The site is also a Freeport.

Stockport meanwhile is scooping up deals and developments like every day’s a birthday. The latest are a 15-storey apartment block and a commitment to another 65,000 sq ft of offices.

Why the contrast?

There are two theories. Theory one says it’s largely about the political context. In Teesside, the corporation is part of fierce party-political conflict, but in Stockport it was born in cross-party consensus. Cllr Mark Hunter, the recently reinstalled Lib Dem Leader of Stockport Council, says: “I’d reject any comparison with Teesside, but from the get-go – and never underestimate this – Stockport’s MDC had cross-party support, and that’s crucial for developers and investors. Without it they might have had second thoughts, but we all lined up behind it and that is a distinct advantage.”

Or maybe this

Theory two is that MDCs are simply not well adapted to monumental tasks like turning wastelands into economic powerhouses. What they are good at is promoting sensible opportunities to which the market was already rather taking a fancy. Put this another way, MDCs struggle to handle market failure on a large scale, but are ideal for managing market movement on a smaller scale.

Hunter isn’t so sure about this theory, but doesn’t completely reject it. “Stockport was already going places before the MDC – but what the town centre regeneration needed was a spark, which the MDC gave us,” he says. Hunter agrees infrastructure spending is key – and recalls the pledge to send Metrolink trams to Stockport.

Very rare

If MDCs had proved their value outside of a fairly limited set of circumstances – eg well-defined (in time and space), oven-ready commercial opportunities – we’d expect to see lots more of them in the North. But we aren’t seeing them.

Maybe Labour politicians can’t overcome long-held antipathy, but in West Yorkshire there are enterprise zones, of course, and individual projects in “spatial priority areas” but there’s no separate delivery vehicle or governance structure like an MDC. South Yorkshire is heading towards a government-backed investment zone for the Sheffield-Rotherham corridor but again nothing like an MDC. Liverpool City region has a Freeport and a management board to run it. Most telling of all, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has no current plans to create another MDC (Subplot asked). The focus now is on Bury-Rochdale-Oldham’s Atom Valley and Tameside’s Ashton as “mayoral development zones.”

Instead, let’s try something else

Will mayoral development zones like Atom Valley make a good alternative to MDCs? Ashton and Atom Valley will have boards to run them, but it’s all very homemade: no separate statutory power is being used, the board has no special powers of its own, and when the project needs some legal or financial oomph the combined authority will provide it. The fact that landowners are already working with Bury, Oldham, and Rochdale councils – so this isn’t about marketing sites, it’s more about infrastructure – seems to be at the root of the choice to create something resembling a forum or clearing house, and not a delivery vehicle. Read the GMCA’s rationale.

Bit old-fashioned?

MDCs share the strengths and weaknesses of urban development corporations experimented with in the 1980s and ’90s. Creating a development corporation involves a statutory process leading to the conferral of independent powers from an ‘a la carte’ menu of options: planning, compulsory purchase, money, and so on. It is the exact opposite of light touch. In contrast, MDZs are whatever the mayor and council leaders want them to be. They are very 2020s.

Puzzling enthusiasm

Which makes it perplexing that Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has a retro-chic enthusiasm for development corporations – and has championed new MDCs in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough. If Cllr Mark Hunter is right – and political consensus is necessary for a development corporation to work – then the Middlesbrough plan got off to a rocky start. A lot of Labour councillors are unhappy. Is this why hardly anybody else in the North is creating MDCs or aspiring to do so?

Stockport begins to look like the exception, unless MDCs can transform Hartlepool and Middlesbrough soon.

­

ELEVATOR PITCH

Going up, or going down? This week’s movers

Manchester city centre office take-up is going down, and the anxiety-laden world of co-development is heading the other way. Doors closing, going up!

Co-development

Are you familiar with the principles of co-development? You’d better be if you want to submit a successful bid for £80m investment zone funding, according to government guidelines published this week.

The technical note explains that this means “locally led” proposals where “co-development will be genuinely iterative.” This seems to mean councils suggest ideas, and then there’s lots of back-and-forth with Whitehall on whether the ideas are any good. Once something is agreed the government “will set broad but clear criteria and agree specific outputs and outcomes against which to hold places to account for progress.”

All in all, it reads like HM Treasury fears the whole thing is a value-for-money disaster waiting to happen, and a tight grip must be maintained. It also comes with a big warning: “We reserve the right to reject an investment zone proposal even after it has passed through all the gateways.”

The first sifting comes this summer to determine “if we consider agreement unlikely in good time ahead of the financial year 2024/2025.” Note the upbeat positive tone.

Manchester offices

Too soon to declare this a slowdown, but there’s a modest slackening of pace in central Manchester’s office market. Second quarter data from Manchester Office Agents Forum shows take-up down to 179,000 sq ft, from 211,000 sq ft in Q1 2023, and down almost a third compared with the same period last year (251,000 sq ft in Q2 2022).

None of this is a disaster, but bear in mind that in Birmingham things are heading the other way. After a few years of sluggish take-up, the market is on a charge. In a smaller market, central Birmingham also scored 179,000 sq ft in Q2 2023. The first half total was 331,000 sq ft, more than double the H1 2022 total and well up on H1 2021, and comparing well with Manchester’s H1 total of 390,000 sq ft. Straws in the wind, perhaps.

The post The Subplot | Mayoral methods, investment zones, offices appeared first on Place North West.

Eamar Developments, owned by Dr Abdullah Al Naeem, acquired the Pyramid for £4.5m in 2019 and now, four years on, the landlord is close to securing its first tenant.

Having stood empty for six years, Royal Nawaab owner Mahboob Hussain confirmed to Place North West that talks with Eamar are progressing.

Royal Nawaab is planning to convert the entire 86,000 sq ft building into a restaurant and banqueting hall, Place North West understands. 

The restaurant business also operates out of the Hoover Building in London. However, Royal Nawaab is best known in the North West for its former Levenshulme venue, located on Stockport Road.

The site was rebranded as Merzee earlier this year after Hussain sold his stake.

Located off Junction One of the M60, Eamar’s Stockport Pyramid is arguably one of the North West’s most recognisable buildings. 

The Pyramid has had a chequered history and laid empty for several years after its completion, following the collapse of the scheme’s original developers.

The Co-operative, which also funded the project, took control of the building in the hopes of finding a tenant, before moving in itself in 1995.

The building has been empty since 2017 after the bank moved its operations to NOMA in Manchester. 

More details on the building’s future use as a restaurant are expected later this month. Ahmed Yaseen, a surveyor specialising in commercial real estate, is acting for Eamar on the deal alongside Fozia Al Harby, the chief executive of Eamar Developments.

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Stockport Rugby Club and Russell Homes have submitted a hybrid planning application for 90 properties, a 75-bedroom care home, and upgrades to the sports complex, located off Jacksons Edge in Hazel Grove. 

The club would sell the residential parcel – part of which is currently the club’s fourth training pitch – to Russell Homes and reinvest the proceeds to upgrade its 1960s clubhouse, improve and increase the changing facilities, and deliver an all-weather pitch.  

This element of the application is submitted in full, while outline consent is sought for Russell Home’s proposals. 

Ged Gurney, chairman of the rugby club described the submission of a planning application for the project as “an exciting moment”. 

“We need to make these improvements to move the club forward, to provide full inclusivity and benefit the whole community. This plan allows us to implement all the changes we want to make and ensure we can support the future of the club in this, our 100th anniversary year.” 

He added that the residential element of the project is required to pay for the upgrades to the facilities, which will benefit the club’s 662 players and members. 

“This partnership with Russell Homes provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the club and we are grateful for their support.  

“No other funding options are available to us for this project. By selling an underused training pitch – which is often too boggy to use – we can fund an all-weather pitch for use by the club and allow us to open our facilities to local schools and the community.”  

Both the club and Russell Homes have been buoyed by the support they received for the proposals during the consultation period. The housebuilder claims there is an “acute need” for new homes in the area. 

“Our proposal outlines a broad mix of house types and sizes to provide different options for people, including affordable homes,” said Russell Homes associate director Thomas Relph.  

“Our research also found there is a significant need for more elderly residential care provision locally. This is backed up by feedback received from people who welcomed the inclusion of a care home in the plan.”  

Nicol Thomas is the architect behind the scheme and Stantec is the planning consultant. 

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News of Kerslake’s death emerged yesterday when his sister Ros tweeted that “my brother Bob (Lord Robert Kerslake) died yesterday after a short battle with cancer. We are all devastated”. The announcement prompted numerous tributes from those who knew and worked with him.

Labour Party Leader Sir Keir Starmer was among those to pay tributes to Kerslake. Starmer, like many others, described Kerslake as a “talented public servant.”

Kerslake began his Northern public service career in Sheffield, where he was chief executive from 1997 to 2008. Later, he became the first chief executive of Homes England forerunner the Homes & Communities Agency, before becoming permanent secretary of the Department for Communities & Local Government. He also served as head of the civil service between 2012 and 2014.

Also having a spell as chair of the King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust between 2014 and 2017, Kerslake was put forward for a peerage in 2015 – a decade after being knighted.

More recently, he chaired the UK2070 Commission on regional inequalities. In 2020, he called on the government to invest an extra £200bn over the next 20 years to support growth outside of London.

Kerslake also led the inquiry into the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, commissioned by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

In his role as chair of the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation, he recently appeared at UKREiiF in Leeds this May to announce English Cities Fund as the winner of a competition to redevelop an eight-acre chunk of the town centre into a 1,200-home neighbourhood.

Cllr Mark Hunter, Leader of Stockport Council said Kerslake had made “an immense contribution to public life in both central and local government over many years” and hailed his “exemplary” chairing of Stockport MDC.

“With a contacts book second to none, Bob was a high-profile and powerful ambassador for the transformation of our town centre and our ambitious regeneration programme,” Hunter said.

“Scrupulously fair, objective, and always far-sighted, he made a massive difference and leaves a lasting legacy for us all. We will miss him terribly.”

A selection of tributes to Lord Kerslake:

Tom Stannard, Salford City Council chief executive: Kerslake was “a giant of regeneration and a lifelong friend and advocate of public services and local government”. 

Joanne Anderson, former Mayor of Liverpool: “[I am] deeply saddened by the loss of Bob Kerslake, a true champion of public service. His wisdom, dedication, and relentless pursuit of positive change have left an indelible mark. May his legacy inspire us to continue working towards a better world. Rest in peace, Bob Kerslake.”

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region: [I am] truly sorry to hear of Bob Kerslake’s passing. He was a great champion of fairness and equity – and few did more to push the devolution agenda.

“I was lucky enough to work with him over a number of years and he was always a wise and willing ear to consult. May he rest in peace.”

Gerry Hughes, former European president at Avison Young: “Bob was simply an amazing human being. It was my privilege to know him. His contribution and impact have been profound.”

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Closed since 2017, the pub would be demolished under the proposals, put forward by Altrincham-based developer Provincial Land. 

The Stockport scheme is understood to be Provincial’s largest residential development to date. The developer’s other schemes include housing schemes in Sale and Newcastle-under-Lyme. 

The proposed 15-storey Stockport development would occupy a prominent site in the town centre next to the Beckwith House office building and Stockport Travelodge. 

Designed by Ollier Smurthwaite Architects, the project proposes coworking space on the lower floors. The building is designed so that each of the apartments would be dual-aspect, according to the architect. 

Each apartment would feature a winter garden. Credit: via Ollier Smurthwaite Architects

In addition, Matt Ollier, director at OS Architects, said all of the apartments would benefit from winter gardens, a feature aimed at reducing noise from nearby roads. 

“The scheme will set a new benchmark for quality in Stockport with all dwellings designed to Passivhaus principles,” he added. 

A planning application for the development will be submitted in the coming weeks. 

Paul Butler Associates is advising Provincial on planning matters. 

The scheme is the latest residential project to come forward in Stockport town centre and is located in a housing growth area. 

Nearby developments include Capital&Centric’s Weir Mill, the redevelopment of the former Stockport bus station – which includes 196 homes – and Stockport 8, a 1,000-home neighbourhood to be delivered by the English Cities Fund. 

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The Manchester-based developer, which owns the adjacent Victoria House, is understood to have been selected by Stockport Council as the preferred bidder for the site of the former Ritz Cinema. 

Progressive is also delivering residential schemes in Chester, in partnership with Clarion Housing, and in the Greengate area of Salford.

Stockport Council’s cabinet is due to sign off the Ritz deal next week. Progressive and the council were contacted for comment. 

Spanning slightly more than half an acre and currently used as an 87-space council car park, the site has been earmarked for redevelopment for several years. 

CBRE was appointed to market the site in 2018 and in 2020 the council approved its sale as well as that of a nearby plot that used to be occupied by Greenhale House to a developer. However, that deal did not complete. 

Prior to that, the plot was the subject of proposals for a hotel as part of the original agreement that saw Stockport take ownership of the site from Elias Property. The hotel scheme did not progress. 

The council’s current aspiration for the site is for a “high-quality residential development”, according to a cabinet report. 

The report adds that the redevelopment of the site could contribute towards Stockport’s wider regeneration and aspiration “to become the most sustainable, liveable town centre in Greater Manchester”. 

Other large-scale developments in the town centre include Capital&Centric’s Weir Mill and Stockport 8, which will see English Cities Fund deliver more than 1,000 homes west of the viaduct. 

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Stockport Council’s regeneration committee will meet next week to sign off funding to draw up a revised hybrid application requesting consent for phases five, six, and seven, with the potential for some residential delivered in the eighth phase. 

The existing permission, which allows for 375,000 sq ft of offices overall, expired last year. 

With no Grade A space due to complete in South Manchester in the next two years Stockport Exchange is “well placed to capture current and future demand in the area”, according to a council report. 

By progressing detailed plans for the next 65,000 sq ft office – and securing outline planning consent for phases six, seven, and eight – Stockport Exchange will put itself “in the best position to meet this demand”, the report adds. 

Stockport success

Demand for office space at Stockport Exchange, which the council is delivering in partnership with Muse, has proved strong.  

The first office, providing 40,000 sq ft, completed in 2016 and is fully let to Music Magpie and Stagecoach. 

The second office, providing 61,500 sq ft, is let to BASF and O’Neill Patient Solicitors, which occupy a combined 43,000 sq ft across two floors each. Other tenants in the building include Industrials REIT, and Community Health and Eyecare, leaving 6,000 sq ft available. 

The third building, which is currently under construction, is also close to securing occupiers. 

Terms have been agreed with a company for the top floor and terms issued on another two floors, according to the report. 

“The successes of phases one, two, and three are testament to the high-quality Grade A accommodation on offer, the highly sustainable location, with public transport access and car parking, wellbeing, amenity and building sustainability,” the report states. 

Looking ahead

By revising the masterplan, the council also hopes to put itself in a favourable position to secure government funding to support the delivery of future phases. 

In addition, having an up-to-date planning consent will put the authority in a stronger position should it have to resort to using CPO powers to assemble the remaining land required to bring forward the scheme. 

The council is trying to acquire 76 – 84 Wellington Road South and is currently negotiating with the owner of the last remaining property within that row. 

If negotiations are unsuccessful, Stockport could consider a CPO to take control of the whole site, needed for landscaping purposes. 

Other parts of the Exchange masterplan include a 115-bed Holiday Inn Express, a 1,000 -space multi-storey car park, and a Sainsbury’s. 

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Loreto College  

Located in Hulme, the college wants to redevelop a 2.2-acre site fronting Moss Road West that is currently occupied by a vacant former probation centre. 

The scheme, designed by 10architect, would see the vacant low-rise building knocked down and replaced by a 24,000 sq ft building providing 20 classrooms across three floors. 

Loreto has submitted a funding bid to support the development. If the bid is unsuccessful, the scheme will be scaled back, providing a 20,000 sq ft block with 14 classrooms. 

To learn more about the project, search for planning reference 136963/FO/2023 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal. 

On a nearby site over the border in Trafford, Trafford Housing Trust is seeking consent to build 161 homes off Bold Street. 

Aquinas College 

The scheme would provide an additional 10 classrooms. Credit: via planning documents

Aquinas College wants to bring a patch of land back into use by building a 13,000 sq ft block featuring 10 classrooms on it. 

The facility would be constructed on part of a grassed area immediately east of the main college building off Nangreave Road. 

The site was previously occupied by the college’s main building, which was demolished in 2008 ahead of the construction of the modern campus. 

Seven Architecture has designed the latest phase of the college’s evolution. 

To learn more about the project, search for planning reference DC/088758 on Stockport Council’s planning portal. 

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The group has received £20m of government funding for the project and will invest another £7m of its own equity. 

The scheme will be split into three parts: the delivery of a new-build teaching facility, upgrade of existing sports facilities, redevelopment of part of the site into residential. 

New-build campus 

The current college building is too large for the college’s requirements and is inefficient in terms of sustainability and energy. 

As a result, Trafford College Group wants to demolish the existing buildings and develop a three-storey new-build facility that it hopes will be more suitable for the needs of students, more energy efficient, and more welcoming. 

The modern campus will provide facilities for young people with SEND, specialist facilities for students accessing the new T Levels in key sector areas with skills shortages including health, care and education, and laboratories to support the delivery of specialist academic and technical qualifications. 

The existing sports facilities (left) would be revamped. Credit: via consultation materials

Sports facilities 

In addition, the college’s existing sports facilities will be refurbished and connected to the new campus building by an area of public realm. 

The sports hall and gym will be retained with a new elevational treatment, improved facilities, and a new entrance. 

The proposals also call for the creation of an all-weather sports pitch to the south-west of the site. 

Residential redevelopment 

The final stage of the development would see housing delivered on land made available through the demolition of the old college buildings. 

Trafford College is to seek outline consent for this element of the project and intends to sell the land to a residential developer. 

A consultation on the proposals is currently live and a planning application is due to be submitted to Stockport Council this month. 

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ECF – a joint venture between Muse, Legal & General and Homes England – beat off competition from two other consortia for the 1,200-home job. 

The underbidders were a partnership between Drum Property Group and Graham Investments, and another comprising Glenbrook and Bruntwood. The shortlist for the final three bidders was revealed by Place North West earlier this year. 

With ECF on board, a planning application for the £250m scheme – which will see the creation of a digitally enabled, green, and fully walkable mixed-use neighbourhood – is expected to be submitted in summer 2024.  

The first phase could complete by 2027, according to Stockport Council. 

Sir Michael Lyons, chair of ECF, said: “We welcome this opportunity to be a part of an ambitious programme of town centre regeneration, and to play an important role in the long-term growth and ambition of Stockport. 

“We understand what can be achieved with strong local leadership, effective collaboration between public and private sectors and patient investment. Our shared emphasis on quality homes, public realm, and commitment to creating an inviting place bodes well.” 

Established in 2001, ECF is no stranger to large regeneration schemes. In Salford, the consortium is delivering Salford Central and Salford Crescent, two projects that together provide thousands of homes and millions of sq ft of offices. 

Elsewhere, ECF is also driving the regeneration of St Helens and Earlestown. 

ECF’s appointment in Stockport came after the partnership demonstrated it shared the MDC’s long-term vision for the site, according to Lord Kerslake, chair of Stockport MDC. 

Stockport 8 features plans for 1,200 homes. Credit: via Stockport MDC

“It speaks volumes about the strength of the opportunity in Stockport that, within just one year of starting our search for a new development partner for Stockport 8, we have secured a long-term joint venture with ECF,” he said. 

“Work to deliver the Town Centre West masterplan is continuing at pace, with a number of our landmark schemes completing this year and next.” 

These projects include Stockport Interchange, the redevelopment of the town’s ageing bus station, and Weir Mill, Capital&Centric’s transformation of a derelict site close to Stockport Viaduct.  

Cllr Mark Hunter, Leader of Stockport Council, said: Between Weir Mill and Stockport Interchange, this new [Stockport 8] neighbourhood will complement our other major developments, as well as deliver new jobs and contribute to a vibrant town centre. 

“Stockport Council and ECF are united in our goal to deliver genuine, long-lasting social value. We were impressed by ECF’s commitment to an inclusive approach, in order to best unlock the potential of Stockport 8 and deliver a mixed-use neighbourhood that will help existing and future communities to thrive in Stockport.”  

Overall, the plans for the Town Centre West will see the creation of up to 4,000 homes, 1m sq ft of employment space, major public transport improvements, new green space, and local amenities over the next 15 years. 

The masterplan will inject an additional £5.9m in business rates and £117m in GVA into the local economy every year, according to the MDC. 

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