Plans have officially been submitted for a brand-new £250 million neighbourhood in the heart of Stockport town centre.
The new mixed residential mini-village simply dubbed, ‘Stockport 8’, has been put forward by the local LLP of the same name, set up as part of a partnership between Stockport Council and ECF (English Cities Fund – itself a joint venture between Homes England, Legal & General, and Muse).
Set to cost a quarter of a billion, the proposed neighbourhood is just the latest step of the ever-growing Stockport Mayor Development Corporation (MDC) masterplan, a wider £500m scheme to transform the specific Stockport Town Centre West area into the most sustainable, liveable town centre in the UK.
With a planning application now submitted, we’ve also been given another look at what the new Stockport neighbourhood would look like if green-lit.
We first heard reports of the new Stockport 8 neighbourhood back in January after CGIs of what the developers envisioned were shared with the public, alongside how it fit into the West blueprints.
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The overall goal of the development is to create a high-quality, green neighbourhood featuring a mix of housing tenures to suit existing and new homeowners and tenants.
Aiming to build a grand total of 1,300 high-quality, energy-efficient homes all told as part of a whopping £1bn investment in Stockport town centre, there will also be room for businesses and community spaces on the ground floor level to knit into the existing centre and its community.
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There’s also an insistence from those behind the project to create different atmospheres, creating new environments for people to meet, socialise, relax and enjoy, such as residential courtyards and green roofs, as well as the usual modern amenities re: parking, vehicle charging, bike storage etc.
All told, the council and their development partners – which include chief designers, shedkm, and landscape architects, Planit – are hoping to contribute nearly a third of the homes in Stockport MDC masterplan, which is hoping to surpass 4,000 homes over a total of 130 acres.
As well as helping contribute to the busy and vital road network that is continuing to be redeveloped, the goal is to create a safe and sustainable travel environment too, with a pedestrian-only street running through the centre of the scheme.
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With one big road (Cook Street) running throughout the neighbourhood, the new builds will also look to knit into Stockport’s existing structure, celebrating the area’s rich heritage and character by even reintroducing historic street patterns and street names.
If you’re interested in the skyline-changing new project, you can find out more HERE.
Planning permission applications in Manchester can sometimes take upwards of 13 weeks due to the various individual stages and processes, so we’re still a while of way from knowing if/when Stockport 8 will begin work but with a summer 2027 completion date, it could be a huge moment for the town.
Advice issued as ‘quademic’ of winter bugs continues to take hold in Greater Manchester
Daisy Jackson
People in Greater Manchester are being urged to get any vaccinations they are due done, as a ‘quademic’ of winter bugs runs rife.
Cases of flu, Covid, norovirus and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) are continuing to take hold across the country, and here in Greater Manchester.
The city is seeing more flu cases and hospital admissions than usual for this time of year.
So now health chiefs are urgently reminding eligible people to get their flu jabs and other vaccinations, to protect themselves and others.
Mancs are also being reminded to follow key public health advice, such as frequent hand washing and staying at home when you’re ill.
The flu vaccination drive runs until the end of March and people who are eligible for it can get it from their GP, pharmacy or one of the city’s walk-in clinics, where no appointment is needed.
Dr Cordelle Ofori, Manchester’s Director of Public Health, said: “Our advice is very similar to recommendations made during the Covid pandemic.
“It’s really important to keep washing hands well and regularly; cough or sneeze into tissues or your arm; wipe down key communal surfaces like handles on doors; and where possible, stay at home if you are ill to avoid passing on any infections.
“And, in addition to this we would urge anyone who is also feeling financial or food pressures to ring our free cost of living advice line on 0800 023 2692 or text on 07860 022876.”
Councillor Thomas Robinson, Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Social Care, at Manchester City Council, said: “Manchester people are well-known for how they look after one another – and passing the flu message on could save lives, as well as unnecessary illness at a time when people face many pressures.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to have their vaccination, so please do go to our walk-in clinics if you are 18 and over and eligible for the vaccine. No appointment is needed: it’s quick, easy and done by teams who want to help you.”
Nurses plea for Government support as 90% say patient safety is being ‘compromised’
Emily Sergeant
Patients dying in corridors, a lack of equipment, and generally unsafe practices are the findings of a harrowing new report into nursing.
Towards the end of last month, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – which is biggest nursing union and professional body in the world, with more than 500,000 members – asked its members to answer a short survey into the state of nursing throughout 2024, and thousands of nurses across the UK responded.
The report documents the experiences of more than 5,000 NHS nursing staff, with several raw, unedited, and often heartbreaking responses included, all of which confirm that ‘corridor care’, as it’s known, is “widespread” nationwide.
Almost seven in 10 (66.8%) respondents said they’re delivering care in “over-crowded or unsuitable places”, such as corridors, converted cupboards, and even car parks, on a daily basis.
More than nine in 10 (90.8%) said patient safety is being “compromised”.
According to the findings from the survey, demoralised nursing staff reported caring for as many as 40 patients in a single corridor, and find they are unable to access oxygen, cardiac monitors, suction, and other lifesaving equipment during this time.
Some of the more shocking accounts including in the report are of female patients miscarrying in corridors, and nurses being unable to provide adequate or timely CPR to patients having heart attacks.
Nursing staff also report cancer patients being put in corridors and other “inappropriate” spaces.
Nurses are calling for Government support as 90% say patient safety is being ‘compromised’ / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
More than a quarter of nursing staff surveyed said they weren’t told the corridor they were providing care in was classed as a “temporary escalation space”, which is what the report says NHS England referred to it as, and this means that certain risk protocols and measures may not be in place to ease pressures and protect patients.
This is why the RCN is calling on officials to publish how many patients are being cared for in corridors and other inappropriate places.
The union is urging the Government and NHS England from an RCN-led coalition.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said this devastating testimony from frontline nursing staff shows patients are coming to harm “every day”, and are “forced” to endure unsafe treatment.
“The revelations from our wards must now become a moment in time,” Professor Ranger said.
“A moment for bold Government action on an NHS which has been neglected for so long. Ministers cannot shirk responsibility and need to recognise that recovering patient care will take new investment, including building a strong nursing workforce.”
Danny Jones -
11th December 2024 
