U-turn over town centre revamp
PLANS to revamp an historic area of a town previously deemed ‘harmful’ to its heritage have been passed after advice to councillors was changed at the 11th hour.
Proposals for an ‘inextricably linked package of sites’ across Little Underbank, Lower Hillgate and Churchgate in Stockport were said to ‘fall short of the standards’ of similarly sensitive developments’ by the council’s conservation officer.
Part of a multi-million pound regeneration of the area, the project was announced by property firm Hall & Co last year – although the applications have been made under the name ‘Project Iris.’
The authority’s planning committee was told the ‘residential-led
scheme’ had the potential for a long-term harmful impact upon the significance of heritage assets – including St Mary’s Church and Robinson’s Brewery.
But there was a late change to the advice ahead of councillors meeting to decide on the application.
The conservation officer’s new guidance – superseding what had come before – instead ‘welcomed’ the applicant’s commitment to abiding by planning conditions, to ensure the Hillgate and Market and Underbanks areas were unharmed.
The late change of heart was raised by Coun Iain Roberts, who questioned why the previous ‘extensive comments’ had been replaced by a brief statement saying ‘it’s all okay because planning conditions,’ when the designs had not changed.
He added: “I think someone looking in from the outside might not unreasonably think they had been leant on to change their view. I’m sure that isn’t the case, but certainly someone could be forgiven for coming to that conclusion.”
The council’s head of planning, Emma Curle, said the conservation officer had not raised a ‘fundamental objection’ to the scheme, but had concerns over the level of detail provided.