This week, Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) – Greater Manchester’s first MDC, and the first nationwide to focus on town centre regeneration – celebrated its fifth birthday with some major news: the GMCA has confirmed its support of the MDC zone tripling in size, and doubling its housing ambitions.
Having successfully led the regeneration of Town Centre West, Stockport MDC is now taking the task of regenerating Town Centre East, a 280-acre site, and with it aiming to build some 8,000 homes over the next 15 years.
At a well-attended event at the Stockport War Memorial Gallery, leading figures including the MDC’s interim chair Eamonn Boylan, Greater Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham, and leader of Stockport Council Mark Hunter spoke about the huge progress the body has made in the last five years.
Andy Burnham in particular has seen Stockport MDC as a role model for urban regeneration. His latest manifesto promised to extend the model across the rest of Greater Manchester’s towns.
Press at the event were able to speak to key figures in the MDC’s leadership, and Coverdale Barclay secured coverage of the expansion across Manchester Evening News, Place North West, EG, and Stockport Nub News.
Speaking at the event, Andy Burnham told the crowd: “I think [the MDC has] done something that many others have tried to look at and failed. [Stockport] is the first that I can think of to come up with the plan for how you regenerate a proud English town, but actually tilt it towards the 21st century. I can’t think of anywhere else having achieved that.”
Cllr Mark Hunter, Leader of Stockport Council, told journalists: “It’s evident how much [the MDC] has shaped the transformation of our town. Stockport is already one of the best places to live in the UK, but by expanding the MDC’s boundary to include Town Centre East, we will be a step closer to making Stockport even better. Our ambition is clear to see; with a vibrant town centre, a revitalised high street and good quality new homes, it’s not surprising we were named the best place to live in the north west by the Sunday Times.”
