Interchange is a ‘vision of the future’
STOCKPORT’S new transport interchange has been hailed as a ‘vision of the future’ by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
The new bus station and two-acre rooftop Viaduct Park have now opened to the public after years of work at the site.
It has 18 bus stands with the capacity for 164 departures every hour, as well as a new walking and cycling route between the park and Stockport’s railway station.
A spiral and cycle walking ramp soon connect the new park with the River Mersey frontage and Trans Pennine Trail, creating access between the park and on to the town centre on cycle or foot.
A new stretch of the banks of the Mersey will be opened up, creating a riverside space that can be enjoyed by the public.
The new interchange is set to be an important part of Greater Manchester’s aim to create a London-style integrated public transport system, with buses in Stockport set to be brought under local control from January 2025.
The £140m project has also created around 200 new apartment homes overlooking the park.
The work is part of a £1bn investment in the regeneration of Stockport town centre.
Mr Burnham told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I’ve not stopped smiling since I got here.
“From a transport point of view it’s a huge lift, but look at the park as well, open space, green space, amazing new developments – this is a vision of the future.
“I think this is how you bring new life to a proud English town like Stockport.
“Credit goes to Stockport council and all of our partners there, and my team at Transport for Greater Manchester, they’ve created something that is really going to set Stockport up for the 21st century.”
Plans are in place to bring the Metrolink to the town by extending the East Didsbury line to Stockport’s transport interchange.
The site has a protected line in preparation for a future expansion of the network.
A business case is being prepared for this and is expected to be shared later this year.
If approved, it would offer Stockport residents a huge range of public transport options for travel around Greater Manchester and beyond.
Mr Burnham said ‘it will happen, it’s a case of when will it happen,’ and that decisions on the extension are expected to be made in the middle of the year.
Other plans include creating Greater Manchester’s first fully electric public transport system in Stockport with the creation of an all-electric bus depot, which is currently being finalised.
Stockport council leader Mark Hunter said the opening of the transport interchange is an important moment for town, and vowed to continue with the regeneration of the borough.
He told the LDRS: “The Interchange and Viaduct Park are the real heartbeat of Stockport’s £1bn transformation and this is only the start for our borough.
“Across the road on the other side of the A6 we’ve got Merseyway Shopping Centre where we’re planning to do some exciting things.
“The kind of retail offer that was appropriate 30 or 40 years ago isn’t now, that model’s gone and probably isn’t coming back, so it’s new ways of looking what we have got and how we can enhance that.
“The plan is to continue this regeneration onto the other side of the A6 and at the same time not forgetting that Stockport is a place that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
“Romiley, Marple, Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme, all those other districts have got to get their share of the available resources as well.
“It isn’t just about Stockport town centre, but most people would agree that this is the place that offered us the opportunity to make the biggest impact.”
Dame Sarah Storey, Greater Manchester’s active travel commissioner, described the work as an ‘amazing transformation.’
Stockport Labour leader David Meller said: “It’s a huge day for Stockport, to see it all here in the bricks and mortar, and seeing people here and the park open, it’s a fantastic achievement.
“I’m really proud and I want to thank everyone involved.”
The Interchange was delivered by Stockport council, Transport for Greater Manchester and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, alongside construction company Willmott Dixon.
Stockport was recently named the best place to live in the North West of England by the Sunday Times, and is basking in the limelight following praise for its regeneration work and transformed town centre.