Construction has been taking place over the last 12 months.
Stopford Park will bring hundreds of new homes to the town centre (Image: Declan Carey)
A landmark project to bring hundreds of new homes to Stockport is getting closer to welcoming people. The new town centre neighbourhood at Stopford Park will bring 442 new homes across three buildings based on Greek Street around the former Stockport Arts College, between the railway station and Wellington Road.
Developer Cityheart announced this week that the first block in the development, known as Bosden, has ‘topped out’ reaching the highest point of the structure, with 62 homes to be built in the building.
An event at the site was attended by Stockport council leader Mark Roberts who said: “The 62 homes as part of the 442-home development at the former Stockport College site will enable more people to proudly call Stockport town centre their home, with easy access to transport links, jobs, our brilliant leisure facilities, bars, restaurants, shops, and our public spaces.
“It’s more than new homes, the development is creating a confident, new urban neighbourhood that signals ambition for our town centre, proudly blending Stockport’s heritage and modern design to breathe new life into historic buildings.
“Alongside the new apartments, the landscaped art park will provide a vibrant green space for residents and visitors to relax and connect.”
The view from the Bosden building overlooking Stockport (Image: Declan Carey)
The first residents are expected to be moving into Bosden next year. Alongside this, there will be 258 apartments in the 16-storey Lyme building, and 122 build-to-rent homes in the Torkington site, along with a residents’ lounge and rooftop terrace.
As for the Grade II-listed former Stockport Arts College, this will become a flexible workspace and social hub for businesses, which will be known as Cheers and Smith.
Greg Ball, development director at Cityheart, said: “There’s lots of investment going into Stockport, it has all the ingredients for a really busy and bustling future.”
Mr Ball also commented on some of the difficulties of developing on brownfield sites.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “In Bosden we’re bringing in 62 homes for open market sale, and they’ll be offered to the local community, local people wanting to buy and invest in these properties. Then we’re bringing forward a build-to-rent product in the Torkington building and Lyme in the future.
“In terms of affordable, yes it is challenging, development is a challenging environment in general at the moment, the cost to build the homes, not just in Stockport but in general, are more than the value of the homes on completion, and there are financial viability challenges.
“But we’re overcoming those viability challenges through really important work done through private-public partnerships, working with key stakeholders, local authorities, combined authorities to bring in funding opportunities.”