Plans to build hundreds of new homes - including a 15-storey tower block- on a vacant Sainsbury’s site in Stockport town centre are set to get the go ahead. Proposals that would bring more than 500 flats and 34 townhouses to the three-acre plot, in Warren Street, are set to go before the council’s planning committee on Thursday night.
The 573 homes would be spread across a trio of buildings - rising in height from five to 15 storeys. Two of these would also have space for a range of potential uses, ranging from shops and cafes to gyms and creches. Parking for 122 cars would be provided at basement level, while there would also be a total of 564 cycle spaces for residents' use.
While this would see a key town centre retail site largely given over to residential use, town hall planners are recommending councillors approve the application when it goes before them on Thursday night. The report notes that the scheme ‘would deliver considerable regenerative benefits to a prominent site’ within the heart of the town.
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It adds: “The regeneration of this vacant site for a high quality mixed use residential led development will further the transformational regeneration underway in the town centre.” While the scheme would result in the loss of a ‘significant’ amount of retail space, government policies encourage councils to take into account town centres 'changing role and evolution to a more mixed environment including residential development'.
Planning officers says that, with demand for ‘large format’ town centre shopping ‘declining sharply', the level of retail space included within the plans is deemed ‘acceptable’. Councillors are also advised that ‘there is no apparent desire by any other retail operators to take on the premises so unless the site is redeveloped then it will in all likelihood remain vacant’.
And having lain vacant since last year, the document notes that the longer it is left undeveloped, the greater the harm to the appearance of the town centre. “As such a ‘do nothing’ approach is not acceptable from a wider planning perspective and the site should be redeveloped to avoid further negative impact on the town centre,” the report adds.
The scheme is also said to reflect the character of the wider town centre, by ‘delivering a high quality modern and contemporary development that will enhance and regenerate’ the area. Applicant Amcap (Stockport) Ltd is proposing to include 25 affordable homes within the scheme, subject to a Homes England grant - arguing it would be financially ‘unviable’ without this.
The developer has also agreed to a financial contribution of £498,000 toward children’s play provision - with the potential for the council to ‘claw back’ more, should the development prove more profitable than expected. Stockport council’s planning committee meets at the town hall on Thursday night (November 10).
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