Glenbrook’s redevelopment of the former Marks & Spencer store on Princes Street, STOK, was one of the schemes praised by the panel as exemplifying plans for Stockport’s transformation for the future in an online forum hosted by Insider.
Hosted by Insider editor, Simon Keegan, the online forum titled Building on Success: Transforming Stockport for the Future covered some of the schemes currently ongoing in Stockport town centre as part of its £1 billion regeneration programme.
Panellists included the STOK developers’ Investment Director, Chris Lloyd, and Stockport Council’s Director for Place, Caroline Simpson, as well as Stockport engineering firm WFEL’s Business Development Director, Tom Winney, and AEW Architects’ director Phil Hepworth. Their discussion touched on office scheme STOK, housing schemes in the MDC’s Town Centre West, and the Council’s investment in Merseyway and new Transport Interchange.
Glenbrook’s Chris Lloyd extolled the benefits to businesses of being in Stockport, such as transport connectivity, that led them to invest in the town’s commercial property market. He commented:
“Stok will provide about 50,000 sq ft of office accommodation, hosting between 500 and 600 office workers in any one day, which would have a huge benefit to the shopping centre and local amenities.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if we had discussions with IT and software occupiers, professional services, as well as central government departments looking at northshoring – after all, we’re only 1 hour 50 minutes from London.”
Stockport Council’s Caroline Simpson praised the work of the MDC in progressing development so quickly, after only being established last year. She said:
We’ve already got a pipeline of a huge amount of work already started. The Stockport Interchange project, which includes 200 residential properties, a two-acre park and a new bus interchange, will be on site next year.
“What we’re now looking for is backing from the government to increase the pace of some of that development. Most importantly we want investment in high-class infrastructure, including the Metrolink extension.”
The Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) is also accelerating the transformation of the Town Centre West area with an aim to build over 3,000 homes within a new urban community. Schemes currently in the pipeline include Capital & Centric’s redevelopment of Weir Mill, and Investar Property Group’s mixed-use conversion of parts of Stockport College’s campus. An intergenerational community at St Thomas’ Hospital is also planned, and Rise Homes will deliver 200 build-to-rent properties as part of the new Transport Interchange, which aims to bring the Metrolink into the town.
The online forum discussion took place on 20th August, hosted by Insider and sponsored by Glenbrook and AEW Architects. A full recording of the discussion is available from the Insider website here.
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