CHRISTIAN MANCIER

LOOKING back over the last 12 months, whilst there were many surprises nationally and internationally, there was a lot to celebrate locally.

2016 saw countless local businesses celebrate successes; a green light being given to the establishment of a business improvement district for our town centre; many new businesses deciding to invest in our town for the first time; work beginning on many of the town’s new developments; and new initiatives being launched to support local businesses.

Add to this the fact Stockport town centre now has two new hotels; the office and public squares at Stockport Exchange have been completed; 145,000 sq ft of industrial units are under construction at Aurora Stockport; and two highly praised new restaurants have opened in Stockport’s Market Place. This truly is an exciting time for Stockport.

So what improvements and changes can we expect to have taken place by 2018? I’m certainly looking forward to visiting the new leisure complex at Redrock Stockport when it opens later this year with its The Light Cinema and restaurants. I expect many of us will also be making good use of the new A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road, scheduled to open to traffic by the autumn.

We’ll also hopefully see changes in the town centre’s retail area as the Business Improvement District becomes operational, as well as new homes being constructed and many more new employers choosing Stockport as their preferred business location.