BRIAN BRADLEY

IF you have recently disembarked the train in Stockport you will have noticed the developments unfolding as new buildings appear on the horizon.

Stockport Exchange is a brand new, mixed use destination combining high quality office space with excellent retail and leisure facilities. The aim is to create a thriving commercial business district set around new public space and amenities including a hotel, cafes, restaurants and a leisure centre.

Last week I was privileged to get a tour of One Stockport Exchange and the new 115-bed Holiday Inn Express. The 50,000 sq ft BREEAM Excellent office building certainly rivals any in Manchester can offer, and the panoramic views from the fourth floor were breathtaking.

The Holiday Inn Express officially opened on December 19 and is a welcome addition to the Stockport landscape. It is also worth noting we have the new 86 room Travelodge which is located in Regent House, one of our other flagship office buildings. We are now spoilt for choice with hotel accommodation in the town centre and after all the barren years it is pleasing to see the positive changes.

The major attraction from a business perspective with all the developments at Stockport Exchange is the connectivity it brings to your organisation. As the building is so close to the station you can be sipping a coffee in your office and then within five minutes on a train which takes you to London in two hours or to Manchester in ten minutes.

You are also only a short step away from motorway links and Manchester Airport, business has never been so connected.

The environment is a polar shift from what we have had before in this locality and this can only bring benefit to the local economy and business in general.

There are further phases to the development planned and once we breathe life into these new buildings it will be onwards and upwards for us as a borough and a modern day commercial business district, a mini Spinningfields maybe?