Stockport’s next wave of projects ‘will blow you away’
Council leader Elise Wilson and newly installed chief executive Caroline Simpson spoke to Place North West about maintaining momentum and putting people at the heart of the borough’s regeneration efforts.
Stockport already has a pipeline of potentially transformative projects underway, but the borough is not going to rest on its laurels.
“I think the next 12 months are going to blow you away,” Wilson said.
“I’m really clear that what I’m doing for Stockport is driving change, doing stuff and making things happen that is going to benefit the people of Stockport. Nothing’s going to get in my way of doing that.”
Wilson will be aided on her quest by Simpson, who replaced Pam Smith as chief executive at the beginning of the year.
Smith left to join Newcastle City Council after a four-and-a-half-year stint that saw Stockport become one of the most exciting development hotspots in Greater Manchester.
Projects that progressed during her tenure include offices at Stockport Exchange, the residential redevelopment of Weir Mill, and the £120m overhaul of Stockport bus station, among many more. Much of the regeneration in the town has been driven by the Mayoral Development Corporation, established on Smith’s watch in 2019.
Now, the new chief executive is keen to pick up where her predecessor left off.
“If there is one thing we’ve got to do in Stockport it is keep the momentum going,” said Caroline Simpson. “We cannot sit and just think about the next three years. We’ve got big ambitions in Stockport, we’ve got resilience and we’ve really got the capacity to keep going at this.”
Read more about Stockport’s development pipeline
Stockport Debenhams could be demolished to pave the way for a new hospital. Credit: via Stockport Council
Simpson continued: “We’ve already got the next pipeline underway and the Mayoral Development Corporation is about to launch a major next phase over the next few months.”
As work on this closely guarded batch of projects continues behind the scenes, Simpson insists that the council will continue to take a holistic approach to development.
“We can’t just focus on housing, we can’t just focus on commercial space, we can’t just focus on healthcare.
“You have to think about it in the context of the place and move on all fronts all the time. That’s really tough, but it is the only way to move a place forward.”
One scheme with the potential to transform Stockport is Project Hazel, a plan to develop a £500m hospital in the town centre.
“This is a project that’s not just about health, it’s about levelling up,” Simpson said.
“It’s about the regeneration of towns and it’s about a new model of healthcare.”
The proposal, which is currently sitting with the government, could provide the blueprint for similar projects going forward if Whitehall chooses to back it, according to Wilson.
“Ultimately, the government wants to see something happen and be able to then go ‘here’s the pilot’.
“[The government should] listen to Stockport because it’s pitching those ideas and the holistic approach. You listen to Stockport because we deliver.”
While it is exciting to see new developments popping up across the borough, the most important part of Stockport’s regeneration strategy is people, Simpson says.
“We’ve got to have these flagship projects because it gives people confidence, but at the same time, we do not lose track of [the fact that] it’s all about people and it’s all about our communities.”
Wilson defended her record on heritage. Credit: via Stockport Council
Stockport residents live in one of the most politically fractious boroughs in the region, which will inevitably lead some to claim that the Labour-run council has not paid enough attention to them on recent issues. Particularly with regard to heritage.
There was vocal opposition to Capital&Centric’s Weir Mill development over concerns about the impact it would have on the town’s famous viaduct. And the majority of people surveyed on the proposed relocation of the town’s library services from its heritage home on Wellington Road to former retail units at Merseyway objected.
Read more about Stockport’s Central Library saga
Wilson maintains the decision to go ahead with the library move was the correct one for residents and defended her track record on heritage.
“Under my leadership, we’ve saved St Thomas’s workhouse, we have saved Weir Mill and spent £8m on the Underbanks,” she said.
Having won the library battle in the face of vocal opposition, Wilson is determined to look ahead. She is single minded in her pursuit of a better future for Stockport
“Stockport is a place so dear to my heart. I love this place and I think it’s going to be even better. I don’t see anything getting in the way of that.”
This level of passion from a leader is rousing for residents but could easily be daunting for Simpson. There will no doubt be occasions when she will have to reign Wilson in but the new chief executive is ready for the various battles that lie ahead on the road to recreating Stockport.
“Every day brings problems, doesn’t it? But every day we find our way through those problems and we move things forward.”
It would be nice to be informed regular about developments in Stockport it all sounds good …We have some beautiful buildings it’s a lovely place .
By Eve Murphy
I hope there’s a substantial underground car park proposed at the new hospital. The renderings don’t show much in way of parking
By Anonymous
What do you propose to do with the old top & bottom Wellington which is an eyesore on your new development?
By John Hilbert
Dread to think what the traffic and air pollution situation would be like if a hospital were to be built smack bang in the heart of Stockport Town centre, albeit I am aware of the need for it.
By Carefor
The public say no to the library move. Wilson says no you will do as I say. Democracy in action. She is an star example of I hear what you say but I know best.
By Mesmo
Where can a see a detailed justification, including costings, which supports spending a planned 1/2 billion which will escalate to 3 possibly 4 billion, by the time it’s built, on moving a hospital? On the face of it, it sounds like the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard. Attract retail into the retail centre and develop the hospital where it is
By MikeM
“I think the next 12 months are going to blow you away”. Is it a giant wind tunnel?
By Windy Miller
Do you all realise there are far more areas of “STOCKPORT” than just the centre other areas need to be upgraded to an area that is pleasant to live in. Hospital is a good idea for the NHS o build but it must have a proper integrated public transport hub so all areas can gain access to it.
By Arthur
Finally You’ve put Your Heads together & realised this Town needs a decent Hospital more central in the Borough.
Think of how safer, cleaner, quicker to get to for Rapid Response as well as Emergency, more ICU’s, Isolation Units, as Covid is still around. A large Neurological & Psychiatry Units. Finally a Blood Bank & Lab.
It has access to the M 60 to reach at last 8 Hospitals quickly.You could put 2 helicopter pads onto the roof to transfer Patients from Hospital to hospital.
Many lives will be saved, as well as money by the Dept Of Health.
The Old Site, as long as Radiation levels aren’t too high or sites are sealed in lead/concrete & checked regularly, could be used for Housing. Many Houses & Flats & a school could be built on site. Again, The Authority wins with more Tennants.
From there, there’s access to 4 Hospitals, many walk-in centres & 3 Secrendary Schools.
Remember, if You listen or read to what Your Constituents are telling You, You might voted in for another ‘Term’.
By Miss Y Taylor
They forgot to mention the Heaton Chapel Active Neighbourhood, which was approved to progress to detailed design stage at Monday evening’s committee meeting. More of these, please.
By Active Travel Trev
What happened to the scheme at St Thomas’s site at Shaw Heath??
By Barry
Of all the GM local authorities, Stockport is by far the most ambitious and as a result the best placed. While others dither, Stockport forges ahead. I’ve not met Caroline, only heard her speak at events but I think she comes across as far more capable than the other GM Chief Execs. She understands that the town doesn’t just need development, it needs quality development so I wish her and the leader great success.
By Derek
Crazy idea, spend the money improving the existing hospital at stepping hill. The site is vast in comparison to this proposal. I agree with an earlier comment regarding cost, 500 million is a pipe dream.
By Anonymous
Just what you need when your fighting serious illness, 24 hours of traffic drone from the m60
By Anonymous
Perhaps those complaining about traffic problems in Stockport should be the change they want to see, and stop driving or reduce their driving in order to achieve less congestion and air pollution.
There’s never been a better time to give up driving and get a bike. 8% of the UK’s oil resources come from Russia. When you drive your car, you ride with Putin
By Anonymous
Once again the rest of GM is allowing Stockport to run away with all the best projects, best developers, and government funding to deliver it too. From reading this, it’s clear they have chief exec and leader that have ambition, understand regen and they know how to deliver it. I wish we could have more of that in my borough.
By Dave Oldham
The list of things she has saved are far outweighed by the list of things destroyed. She doesn’t listen to the concerns of the electorate or communicate any other arguement other than ‘This is a done deal, get on with it’. Massive rent and rates increases have killed off the town centre together with a road system that would baffle Einstein. But then again, what’s the point? She won’t listen.
By Gordon
Good to see Caroline Simpson thriving. Came across her in Liverpool years ago. Always courteous, always professional. Not always the case when dealing with people at her level.
By Mark Gilbertson
Once again, an article about Stockport that is pointedly about the town and not the borough.
The town centre regeneration is essential, but…
…Stockport has a major issue with the massive disconnect between the town itself and its affluent outlying district centres to the East, South, and West where people from Romiley, Marple, Hazel Grove, Bramhall, Woodford, Cheadle, Heald Green and so forth go anywhere but the town centre.
The car/bus/train/non-existent tram links from most of the places listed above are so slow or so poor it’s actually quicker to jog from Romiley or Marple to Stockport at some times in the day, than go by car, bus, or non-existent train (unless via Manchester!).
Better connectivity between the town and the borough is essential to the economic well-being of Stockport.
By AltPoV
If ‘…most politically fractious’ means that no one party in Stockport can do anything without the support of a second, or that any two can out-vote a third, then surely that’s far better democracy than the one-part states that exist in most of the rest of the city region ?
By AltPoV
You didn’t save Marple swimming pool – residents want to know when we will be getting a new one.
The state of the roads are awful not to mention all the money wasted on speed bumps that no one wanted.
I’m completely blown away by the amount of money that Stockport council has wasted – yet our council tax is still increasing!!
By RJ