{"id":668704,"date":"2026-01-02T09:54:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T09:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/668704\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T09:54:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T09:54:21","slug":"the-massive-changes-coming-to-stockport-town-centre-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/668704\/","title":{"rendered":"The massive changes coming to Stockport town centre in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is much to look forward to.\"AA new community at Weir Mill is set to finish in 2026 (Image: Capital and Centric)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a big few years for Stockport.<\/p>\n

The town centre has enjoyed getting a new transport interchange, an urban park, more homes being built, and upgrades in the historic Underbanks.<\/p>\n

Known by some as the \u2018New Berlin\u2019, it has a growing nightlife and cultural scene, and great transport links to Manchester city centre<\/a> and beyond via train and bus.<\/p>\n

Mapped out in a \u00a31bn regeneration project, the changes have come thick and fast in recent times.<\/p>\n

But there are enormous plans in the pipeline which will change the face of Stockport<\/a> town centre in the future.<\/p>\n

Metrolink<\/a> is on the way, as well as hundreds more homes and places to eat and drink dotted in new neighbourhoods being built around the town centre.<\/p>\n

While much of the work so far has focused on the west of the A6, development is about to expand to the east of the town centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see Stockport as ripping up the rulebook on how town centres are performing,\u201d said council leader Mark Roberts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re redefining how we live, how we work and how we spend time within our town, the next ten years for Stockport will see tens of thousands of people call our town centre home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anywhere else across Greater Manchester or indeed the country is experiencing regeneration on the scale that we\u2019re seeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you speak to people in Stockport there is a real buzz in the town and people are really keen to see what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that in mind, here are some of the biggest projects set to move ahead in Stockport in 2026.<\/p>\n

Stockport town centre east<\/strong>\"AA concept image of a new riverside neighbourhood planned in Stockport town centre (Image: Stockport council)<\/p>\n

Based around Piccadilly, Hillgate, and the River Mersey, three new neighbourhoods are planned<\/a> in the east of Stockport town centre with 4,000 new homes.<\/p>\n

A blueprint for the town aims to build a new riverside community with a public park, with plans to \u2018open up\u2019 the water for future residents and visitors.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s alongside new homes and areas for businesses around Piccadilly, as well as green space.<\/p>\n

Around Hillgate the area is set to be \u2018renewed\u2019 by uncovering the Hempshaw Brook to make a \u2018green, connected\u2019 neighbourhood with links to other parts of the town.<\/p>\n

Supporting the design, earlier this year the council backed plans to expand the boundary of Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation which is leading the regeneration work.<\/p>\n

Approval from Parliament for the expanded MDC area in 2026 would unlock the way for huge change.<\/p>\n

Weir Mill<\/strong>\"WhatWhat Weaver’s Square, at the Weir Mill development in Stockport, could look like (Image: Capital and Centric)<\/p>\n

A landmark \u00a360m scheme, the redevelopment of a grade II-listed former cotton mill near Stockport Viaduct will create a new neighbourhood in the town centre. Work started in 2022 and is expected to finish in spring 2026 after some delays.<\/p>\n

With two new-build blocks and a 14-storey tower, there will be a total of 253 new apartments built when complete.<\/p>\n

But the changes go even further with an area known as Weaver’s Square set to become a space for independent food and drink vendors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

John Moffat, joint-managing director at developer Capital and Centric, previously said: \u201cWe want people there day and night, that\u2019s the overarching intention behind Weir Mill.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can save a historic building at the same time, and create pocket parks, public squares, and amenities, then you\u2019re giving other people reasons to visit too, and not just the residents who live there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stopford Park<\/strong>\"AA CGI of regeneration plans at Stopford Park in Stockport (Image: Cityheart)<\/p>\n

A new neighbourhood with 442 homes<\/a> is being built on Greek Street around the former Stockport Arts College, between the railway station and Wellington Road.<\/p>\n

The first building, known as Bosden with 62 homes, \u2018topped out\u2019 in December meaning it has reached the highest point of construction, and is expected to have residents moving in by 2026.<\/p>\n

Work is also progressing on 258 apartments in the 16-storey Lyme building, and 122 build-to-rent homes in the Torkington site, along with a residents\u2019 lounge and rooftop terrace.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Greg Ball, development director at Cityheart, recently said: \u201cThere\u2019s lots of investment going into Stockport, it has all the ingredients for a really busy and bustling future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stockport 8<\/strong>\"AA computer generated image of what Stockport 8 could look like (Image: Stockport council)<\/p>\n

Industrial buildings to the west of Stockport Viaduct are being cleared to make way for Stockport 8<\/a>, a community with 1,300 new homes with one building up to 16-stories tall.<\/p>\n

Permission to start construction was granted in August by the council\u2019s planning committee and the project is set to move forward in 2026.<\/p>\n

The designs involve creating a \u2018well-connected walkable place\u2019 as well as 1,573 sqm of space for businesses and the community.<\/p>\n

Phase one of the work is set to create 435 homes, including one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, and 82 affordable properties.<\/p>\n

Fletcher Street<\/strong>\"AA CGI of plans for new apartment blocks at Victoria House in Stockport (Image: Nutshell Communications)<\/p>\n

Sitting on the Piccadilly roundabout, work is set to move ahead to transform derelict offices<\/a> at the Victoria House building and Fletcher Street surface car park into a new development with 245 homes.<\/p>\n

The plans were approved in July to create two new buildings from eight to 20 storeys, with a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments to be built in the scheme.<\/p>\n

Bosses say the plans could \u2018revitalise a key gateway\u2019 to the town centre, which is close to the A6 and key destinations such as Stockport Market and the Underbanks.<\/p>\n

In summer, developers said they planned to start demolition works this year, with construction expected to start in spring 2026, and completion targeted for Summer 2028.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is much to look forward to.A new community at Weir Mill is set to finish in 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,1288,2622,2627,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-668704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-stockport","13":"tag-stockport-council","14":"tag-stockport-town-centre","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115824903479196534","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}