Building Stockport’s sustainable future through strong partnership

Catherine Chilvers is Managing Director of Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC). Stockport MDC and Stockport Council are working in partnership with ECF to develop Stockport 8, a mixed neighbourhood to the west of the town centre.

With planning approved earlier this year and work set to start on the first phase in 2026, Catherine discusses the power of the partnership in delivering a development which is at the heart of Stockport’s regeneration.

Stockport is undergoing a huge £1 billion regeneration programme that is redefining what a modern town centre can be – and it’s really exciting to play a part in steering positive change. At the heart of it all is the MDC, pushing development forward and ensuring the Council’s ambitious vision becomes a reality. I am proud to have joined the team earlier this year and, in a short time, have seen first-hand the incredible progress being made.

We’re taking underused spaces and transforming them into something special, creating a vibrant place with thousands of new homes, jobs, and new opportunities. There’s a real buzz in the town right now, with people eager to see what’s next. And one project I believe will maintain momentum and elevate everything we’ve achieved so far is Stockport 8, which has just been allocated £41.3m in the first wave of funding from the new £1 billion Greater Manchester Good Growth Fund. It’s a sure sign of confidence in the project and will help accelerate the delivery of phase one next year.

Stockport will no longer just be a commuter town for people with jobs in Manchester or a place to shop. We’re rebuilding a town centre to deliver so much more for people in and around the borough. It’s becoming a place to put down roots, expand your business, enjoy outdoor spaces and spend time with friends and family. Stockport 8 delivers all of this, and more.

Set up in 2019 by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, in close collaboration with the Council, the MDC became a vehicle to supercharge regeneration and placemaking. Our framework for Town Centre West set the aim of delivering 4,000 new homes and one million square feet of employment space, creating urban neighbourhoods that not only addressed the local housing need but also improved the vitality of the town centre and supported businesses already based in the area.

As our biggest scheme, Stockport 8 embodies exactly the type of regeneration that we envisioned. Designed to suit existing and new residents, it will deliver a mix of up to 1,300 high-quality, energy-efficient and multi-generational homes and courtyards. There will be commercial spaces for local businesses to grow, green public squares for people to come together, and improved active travel that connects the town’s historic viaduct to the transport Interchange and surrounding areas.

We’re driving regeneration at scale – boosting the local economy and creating hundreds of jobs during construction and beyond. With up to 500 workers on site, it’ll be the focal point of Town Centre West and marks the next exciting chapter in the MDC’s journey.

Schemes already completed show why Stockport is bucking the national trend of decline and how, with our brownfield-first, public-private partnership model, we’re leading the way for urban renewal. The Interchange transformed a tired, old bus station into an iconic centrepiece, with electric buses, a unique two-acre rooftop park and 196 homes. It’s also Metrolink ready.

Stockport Exchange has become a thriving business district, and Weir Mill, due to shortly complete in the new year, will breathe new life into a Grade-II listed landmark with 253 new homes. These projects have already shifted perceptions, earning Stockport the title of Best Place to Live in the North West by The Sunday Times last year.

Stockport 8 builds on this success.

We secured hybrid planning consent in August, allowing the delivery of 435 homes in the first phase – 82 of them I can proudly say will be affordable and all designed to meet net-zero standards.

We’re very clear that none of this can happen in isolation. We act as an open door to trusted private sector partners and public funders, with collaboration at the heart of everything we do. Delivering alongside ECF is a prime example of working together to achieve better outcomes and value. There are always challenges in regeneration, and it is never a linear process, but strong partnerships can turn challenges into opportunities. ECF brings expertise and a shared commitment to transformational change, and together, we’re setting a benchmark that other developers will follow.

This is even more important now as we look to expand the MDC’s remit, tripling the boundary in a UK-first to incorporate land in the east. This means we’ll be able to regenerate land across the entire town centre boundary, rather than being constrained to one area, unlocking new opportunities for growth. It’s a key step toward the Council’s bold vision of 8,000 new town centre homes over the next 15 years, and we’re committed to making it happen.

Stockport is a place where people are unashamedly ambitious, which I think is an important attribute in everything we do to deliver the very best for residents. Stockport 8 is a statement of our intent to keep on delivering. A decade from now, I am confident that we will look back on this as the catalyst for Stockport truly coming of age in its transformation into an accessible, thriving and sustainable town centre people are proud to call home.