Agenda item

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration

The Council has established a long-term ambition for the future of Town Centre West which it is delivering through a number of development schemes, policies, and initiatives which will collectively help maximise the area’s potential.  Over recent months the Council has been working with specialist regeneration, urban design, and transport planning consultants to develop a Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) for Town Centre West which articulates a comprehensive overall vision and ambition for the area. 

The draft Strategic Regeneration Framework is intended to inspire, excite and engage with existing and future residents and businesses as well as with developers and investors.  It sets out a vision, masterplan, and delivery strategy for how Town Centre West could be reshaped over the next ten to fifteen years as Greater Manchester’s newest, greenest, and coolest affordable urban neighbourhood.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to:

·         note the timescales of the consultation on the draft Strategic Regeneration Framework;

·         comment on the draft Strategic Regeneration Framework as part of the formal consultation process;

·         note that a the final Strategic Regeneration Framework document will be submitted to Economy and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee Members for comment in October before being submitted to Cabinet in November for approval;

·         note that the final Strategic Regeneration Framework will inform the annual business plan of the Mayoral Development Corporation;

·         note that the final Strategic Regeneration Framework will form the basis of a Supplementary Planning Document to be produced over winter 2019/20.

Officer Contact: Paul Richards on 0161-474-2940 or email: paul.richards@stockport.gov.uk

The Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing the draft Strategic Regeneration Framework for Town Centre West that was intended to inspire, excite and engage with existing and future residents and businesses as well as with developers and investors. It set out a vision, masterplan and delivery strategy for how Town Centre West could be reshaped over the next ten to fifteen years as Greater Manchester’s newest, greenest and coolest and affordable urban neighbourhood.

The Cabinet Member for Economy and Regeneration (Councillor David Meller) attended the meeting to respond to Members’ questions.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

• The homes being built needed to be ‘life time homes’, for example there was a need for electricity sockets to be in the right place should residents have disabilities in older age. It was pointed out that the demands of the older population would be addressed as part of the Strategic Regeneration Framework.
• The document aimed to strike the balance between being prescriptive with developers and allowing room for innovation. Officers had carried out a lot of work to ensure that the scheme was deliverable and had been based on conversations with the developers’ community.
• It was not possible for Officers to give any commitment as to the percentage of social housing at this stage. There would be housing for people of all ages and there would all tenures of property. There was a lot of work that still needed to be carried out on viability and the housing needs assessment.
• One of the problems of shared spaces for pedestrian and vehicles was for people with visual impairments and this would be considered. There had to be a degree of flexibility in the proposals as, for example, there may be additional research over time which highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of shared spaces.
• It was acknowledged that it was difficult to future proof the intentions of the proposals if they were going to take fifteen to twenty years to come into force.
• Consideration would be given to improving cultural areas as Town Centre West centred around providing facilities for everyone.
• A Member expressed concern about the amount of land assembly and the relocation of industrial activity which would need to take place to facilitate the proposals.
• Part of the work of the Mayoral Development Corporation was to work with businesses who wished to remain in Stockport.
• Access to and parking for the new properties would continue to remain issues of concern. Section 5.5 of the Strategic Regeneration Framework set out how the aim would be to promote behaviour change in terms of transport and maximising the quality of non-car links and reducing the number of car journeys. The new Stockport Interchange was an integral part of this.
• International evidence suggested that good transport links were of paramount importance for a development such as this. There was not physically enough space for more roads and car parks to be built.
• The use of smart technology was supported.
• A Member felt that if the aim was to attract people into the area then provision needed to be made for car usage.
• Provision should be made for electric cars in terms of charging points. When the proposals were complete, there could be transport solutions which were not currently being considered, for example ‘driverless’ cars.
• The use of electric scooters should be considered as part of the planning,
• The safety and security of the area was very important, particularly if people were moving into the area with families.

RESOLVED – (1) That the timescales of the consultation on the draft Strategic Regeneration Framework be noted.

(2) That it be noted that the final Strategic Regeneration Framework document will be submitted to the Scrutiny Committee in October before being submitted to the Cabinet in November for approval.

(3) That it be noted that the final Strategic Regeneration Framework will inform the annual business plan of the Mayoral Development Corporation.

(4) That it be noted that the final Strategic Regeneration Framework will form the basis of a supplementary document to be produced over winter 2019/20.

(5) That regular update reports be submitted to the Scrutiny Committee on the various aspects of the Strategic Regeneration Framework.