It’s hard to talk about forward planning in Greater Manchester without talking about the Places for Everyone spatial plan. And it’s hard to talk about that without referencing when Stockport Council pulled out six years after work on it (when it was called the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework) began.
Certainly it was a “big moment” in our sub-regional politics.
This month we’re taking a closer look at why it happened, what were the consequences of it, and what Stockport is doing now it’s chosen to go it alone.
What led Stockport to pull out of the GMSF?
Two key factors contributed to the political mindset which led to Stockport pulling out of the combined plan.
A struggling high street
In 2011, the government’s Portas Review painted a worrying picture of the health of the high street. It cited issues that many across the built environment sector will be familiar with:
- A shift in shopping habits to out of town centres
- The rise in online shopping, and
- The encroachment of supermarkets into selling non-food goods
Stockport’s town centre was following this national trend, with the Financial Times reporting in 2011 that it had the highest UK vacancy rates. Stockport wanted to be more interventionist, to reverse its decline.
A housing crisis and green belt release
Work on the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) began in 2014. As plans emerged it became clear that GMCA was seeking to release land from the green belt to meet the identified local housing need.
Yet there has always been a particularly strong political will in Stockport to protect the green belt from development. As the GMSF took shape, a mismatch between Stockport’s and GMCA’s political priorities came into focus.
Stockport’s two political priorities – the health of the high street and the protection of the green belt – combined, raising concerns among some that it was being carried down a path towards expansion into the green belt, at the expense of town centre vitality.
On reflection, this debate feels vaguely Brexit-like. The sentiment of being taken along against one’s will by a larger political organisation, and a desire to “take back control” of one’s own destiny was at play both at the national level and local level.
The Council made the decision to pull out of the GMSF in December 2020.
"The framework as it stands would lead to urban sprawl, destroying the green belt – and would put huge pressure on infrastructure and lead to traffic chaos.”
Liberal Democrat councillor Iain Roberts, at a council meeting in 2017.
What were the consequences for Stockport?
Like many things in life, there was good news and bad news. Let’s start with the bad news first.
With the sub-regional plan adopted, the development industry now has certainty over which green belt sites have been released for housing, and conversely, which won’t be.
And as you will know, certainty is good.
Stockport wanted to take back control but, for the meantime at least, there is no certainty over what green belt land will or won’t be released until its own local plan is adopted. Stockport is therefore still at the receiving end of speculative development proposals.
But there is a clear positive too.
By stepping away from the sub-regional plan, Stockport has grabbed hold of its own destiny, particularly in the town centre.
Stockport’s new local plan – and its development frameworks
What of progress on its own local plan?
Consultation on its draft plan should have commenced by now, but work was halted in August so the Council could digest and respond to central government’s proposed changes to the NPPF and wider proposed planning reform (which, incidentally, now looks to identify much higher housing numbers for Stockport).
As Euan said in last month’s blog, a local plan is rather like a tanker. Slow to move and hard to shift direction. Plugging that gap, though, the Council has been busy drawingup two town centre frameworks – for the Town Centre West (3,500 new homes) and TownCentre East (4,000 new homes) –with the express intention of increasing town centre living. The benefit is two-fold: boosting town centre vitality while reducing pressure on the green belt.
It's a tactical approach to forward planning: taking back control through the layering up of guidance and policy over a long period of time that’s designed to attract people back – and breathe life – into the town centre.
Stockport Town Centre West vision
Its frameworks are helping give direction for what pieces of the puzzle are next on the Council’s hit list. The town centre vision states:
“Seen from the train, Town Centre West will encourage people to stop, explore and invest. Seen from the air it will showcase Stockport as a leading place to live, work, visit and play.”
The Framework and the Interchange
We can’t talk about Stockport’s town centre without talking about Stockport Interchange. There, the Council, in collaboration with Transport for Greater Manchester and Rise Homes, has delivered a new bus interchange along with a two acre park and 14-storey apartment block.
It has shown great visionary leadership at Stockport Interchange; attracting the right investment, teaming up with a development partner in Rise Homes and sticking to its guns to deliver a certain quality.
This last point, in particular, is key. This being the first major project for the framework, the Council knew it needed to set the bar high. And what a result.
No longer is Stockport in the position of having to accept any investment. The successful Interchange scheme has been the catalyst for further investment, setting the standard for what will be expected of future development proposals. The first major scheme to follow suit, Capital and Centric’s proposal for 253apartments at Wier Mill, is currently under construction.
Like we’ve seen in Salford, the town centre frameworks are plugging a gap while the local plan is being prepared, helping to give developers direction and keep the momentum going.
What’s next for Stockport?
No doubt the Council will continue with what is working so well: collaborating proactively with like-minded development partners to secure investment and transformation in its town centre.
With all these things, transformation takes time. It also takes a great deal of collaboration. Stockport’s journey has been tumultuous, with its departure from the GMSF a case in point.
But there has also been the opportunity for resolution and progress.
And undoubtedly, we are now seeing a great deal of progress in Stockport’s town centre.
