COVENT GARDEN
It’s one of the most expensive developments in the town’s history, around the A6 and the Grand Central leisure centre.
So far, two of eight phases of the £145m project have been finished.
There is a new 1,000-space multi-storey car park, a cafe, a Sainsburys store, 40,000sq ft of offices in a five-storey building, a 115-bed Holiday Inn Express hotel and public open space.
A planning application for stage three was recently submitted and should be decided by the end of February.
Outline permission for a six-storey 60,000sq ft office block shops on the ground floor - as well as more public open space - has already been secured.
All being well, phase three should be finished by spring 2020. The council predicts phase three will create 350 jobs, on top of the 300 from phase two.
But the town hall has not confirmed exactly when the entire development which will have 300,000sq ft of office space and be opened up to the A6 with landscaping - will be finished.
But it should be well within the next decade. Work began at the site - named after the red cliffs behind it - in 2016.
The major residential development in the centre of Stockport is the ‘Covent Garden Urban Village.’
It also takes in Hopes Carr, the scene of the Stockport Air Crash in 1967. Work began in 2012.
When it is finished, in 2019, there will 250 new homes.
It is a joint £33m project between the council, the Homes and Community Agency and developer Seddons.
So far, 82 homes have been completed with the third phase of building to begin this year, but difficulties have been posed by the landscape of the area.
The 9.2 hectare site is undulating, and, as a location where textile firms were based, ownership of various parts of land has been hard to nail down.
They include the creation of a ‘grab and go’ food court, largely selling fast food, on Arden Walk.
Smaller ‘retail pods’ down the centre of Merseyway for smaller and semipermanent businesses are also being considered.
Adlington Walk will be brightened up and connected to the Underbanks area, while the former Next building will be given a new double glass frontage in a bid to attract a ‘high end retailer.’
STOCKPORT OLD TOWN
Stockport’s Old Town has such potential. It’s charming, has an historic feel and seems a million miles from the hustle and bustle of nearby Merseyway. The council is putting up £7m and the Heritage Lottery Fund almost £2m - to give it a facelift.
The area, which includes the Market Place, the Underbanks and Hillgate, has suffered in recent years with calls from traders for more investment.
The town hall wants it to become an area for smaller, independent shops but has been hampered by the difficulty of tracking down owners of disused buildings. Progress is being made, though. The plan to turn the area into an emporium for niche businesses could become a reality in five to 10 years.
Among the buildings due to be brought back to life is the Grade IIlisted White Lion pub, which shut several years ago.
A planning application to turn it into a restaurant - with flats above has been approved. Shop fronts will also be refurbished to make the area look more attractive.
MARKET PLACE
Following a huge amount of controversy surrounding plans for Stockport Market Place, any overt change will be minimal.
Huge anger was caused among stall holders in 2016 over plans to relocate the indoor market when the council was under Lib Dem control.
Now the Labour-led council has committed to keeping stalls in their current location.
It says money will continue to be spent upgrading buildings in the area and supporting regular events at the Market Place, such as Foodie Friday.
The area has received a blow though, with news that the Seven Miles Out arts venue will shut in April.
There will be a major change at the produce hall though, where restaurateur Steve Pilling, former owner of Damson, has been selected as the preferred tenant for transforming the Grade II-listed building.
He wants to turn it into an Altrincham Market-style food and drink hall with around ‘half a dozen’ permanent outlets. These will be accompanied by entertainment in the form of music, theatre and art.
AURORA STOCKPORT INDUSTRIAL PARK
The finishing touches were put on Stockport’s largest industrial park in December.
Aurora, at Gorsey Bank, in Cheadle Heath, now has 147,000sq ft of space spread across ten units.
So far 103,000sq ft of this has been filled by four firms - Anglican Windows, engineering firm Baumüller, Spanish rail company Caf and Aerco, a manufacturer for the aircraft industry also from Spain.
Council regeneration boss Paul Richards says negotiations are ‘ongoing’ for the remaining space.
Work began on the £12m project in May 2016 and the council predicts 240 jobs will be created when the site is fully let.
BRININNGTON MASTERPLAN
Another controversial scheme, the Brinnington Masterplan divided opinion from the start.
On one hand, the £40m scheme is set to provide 280 homes and a brand new leisure centre for an area that is seen as badly in need of regenerating.
But on the other massive protests were caused when it emerged 70 of the homes would be built on green belt land inside Reddish Vale Country Park, off Blackberry Lane.
Petitions opposing the development collected more than 14,000 signatures but it was given the green light.
Work on the homes began in 2015 but was delayed after protesters lodged a request for a judicial review.
It was ultimately unsuccessful and construction restarted. In April last year work began on the sports centre, in Brinnington Park, and it is expected to open in the next few months.
The building of houses, which will range from two to four bed, remains ongoing - is currently at 98 - and should be completed by 2021.
THE SEMMMS MANCHESTER AIRPORT RELIEF ROAD
Although the £300m, 10km road is expected to open soon it has been beset by problems and will arrive more than six months late.
Revised predictions have said it will now not open in spring 2018 following further problems and ‘no final date’ has been set.
Problems since work began in early 2015 have included too much soil being produced by digging out the route, and balls from nearby Hazel Grove Golf Course landing on the road.
And, in April last year, it was announced the road’s full opening will be pushed back from November until spring 2018 because of ‘heavy rainfall’.
Traffic began using a small section of the road at Easter last year between Yew Tree Avenue and Norbury Hollow Road, in Hazel Grove.
The excess soil created has been disposed of by creating bunds - mounds of earth that screen houses from the road and act as a barrier.
An argument is still continuing with residents on Ashbourne Road, in Hazel Grove, who say their mound is smaller than planned and does not obscure the relief road from sight.