Site of former cinema to be used for homes

PLANS to sell-off Stockport’s former Ritz Cinema site to make way for housing have been approved by council chiefs.

The site, between Piccadilly and Fletcher Street, is currently a car park and used regularly by shoppers and town centre workers.

Members rubberstamped the scheme during last Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

Coun Elise Wilson, portfolio holder for reform and governance, said the sale would make way for much-needed residential development.

She said: “The sale will make a piece of land available for housing. Providing good quality homes is a key priority in the town centre.”

Commenting on the reduction of spaces, Coun Wilson said the need for homes outweighed the demand for parking facilities.

“There is already plenty of capacity in the town centre,” she added.

A report prepared ahead of Tuesday’s meeting read: “The site occupies a strategic location in the town centre adjacent to proposed residential development on the Regal House and Greenhale House sites.

“The council’s freehold interest provides an opportunity to promote residential redevelopment with a sufficient design quality to act as a catalyst for further residential town centre schemes.

“The marketing and disposal is proposed as a two-stage process designed to ensure the council retains a sufficient degree of control over development of the site while minimising any risk from disposal of the asset.”

The plan is to offer the site to a developer, but the council will retain ownership until the scheme has been completed.

The report continued: “A traditional sale with the land, either sold unconditionally or subject to planning, is likely to be unsuitable as it limits the council’s ability to directly influence scheme design and the timescales for delivery.

“An alternative option could be to procure a development partner through which risk and return could be shared. This option would be subject to a lengthy procurement process which could limit the number of interested parties.

“This mechanism allows the council to transfer the land to a developer at completion of the scheme.

“The developer is thereby incentivised to build out their scheme as the financial return is realised upon completion and they avoid significant financial outlay at the outset.”

The report also states that any loss of parking facilities in the town centre could be ‘absorbed’ by Redrock and Merseyway car parks.