Crews worked for over four hours to extinguish the blaze
Cheadle Heath Works on Stockport Road (Image: Manchester Evening News)
A derelict factory in Stockport caught fire on Thursday (April 10), with crews working for over four hours to extinguish the blaze.
Cheadle Heath Works has dominated the landscape on Stockport Road just outside of Cheadle since it was built in 1920. It was formerly home to DeanPrint, a printing company who had the factory purpose built for their business.
The building has been shuttered since 2022, when DeanPrint moved to a new site a mile away, although the company would then go into liquidation just a year later.
On Thursday afternoon (April 10) witnesses said they saw the roof of the building ablaze and that it went on ‘for some time’ before being extinguished by the fire service.
Plans to flatten the now-derelict site and construct a Lidl supermarket in its place had been in the works since February 2023.
But the plans were mired in controversy after Lidl delayed its application on the day it was due to be decided on in December last year. It attracted nearly 60 objections from local residents who raised fears about the potential impact on traffic.
The plans were eventually rejected by Stockport Council at a meeting in January. Greater Manchester Police told the M.E.N. on Friday (April 11) that enquiries were ongoing to determine the cause of the fire.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: “At just after 4.40pm on Thursday (April 10) three fire engines from Whitehill, Stockport and Wythenshawe fire stations plus the turntable ladder from Stretford fire station attended a fire involving the roof of a derelict industrial building on Stockport Road, Cheadle.
“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used two jets to extinguish the fire and make the area safe. Crews were in attendance for around four and a half hours.”
Fire damage to the roof of the building (Image: Manchester Evening News)
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