A New Blockbuster For St Peter’s Square

[Excerpt from SMBC press release, 18 Jan]
Salford based HBG Properties has been selected by the Council to create a flagship office and restaurant development that will complement the work already underway around St Peter’s Church. The £12m redevelopment of the site will see the creation of a contemporary design Grade A office building plus private parking and a ground floor unit suitable for a restaurant, coffee bar or showroom.

HBG’s architects, HKR of Manchester, are now working with the Council on the detail design of the complex.

[Click here, for the press release in full.]

A futuristic town: but will you dig it?

[Excerpt from the Stockport Express, 6/12/06, reporting on the contraversial Masterplan.]

St Peters Square 16.10.05
before any work has been done
Photo by A G 1.

DIGGERS and cranes were seen busy at work in Stockport town centre on the second anniversary of the council's Masterplan project last week.

The first stages of the project are now being realised with the transformation of St Peter's Square into a pedestrianised "urban park" well underway and landmark buildings, such as the Salvation Army Citadel, on Hillgate, being given a new lease of life as town centre flats.


Click on the above image for the full article.

'Business pay-offs could damage town centre's £500m Masterplan'

[Excerpt from Stockport Times 20/7/06]
Roger Hannah says that the redevelopment scheme could come unstuck, if the developer working hand-in-hand with the local authority to bring the borough's Masterplan to fruitition decides that, because of high compensation settlements to businesses and landowners, there would not be enough profit left in the kitty.

St Peter's Square Masterplan

SMBC have upgraded their pages about St Peter's Square Masterplan. It includes a 6 page document of computer generated views and an aerial photo.

There is also an online questionnaire. So you don't need to find the 'Stockpod' to comment.

The questionnaire is cleverly constructed. The first question is, "What are your first impressions?", so even if you answer "poor" (the most negative response allowed for) it could be dismissed as a first impression. After that, the questions are: what in the square needs the most improvement, what are the most important aspects of the new design and , what would you use St Peters for if the improvements are made. So a negative response is impossible. The closest you can get to a negative response, is to leave the answers blank, but that just excludes you from the statistics. Well done SMBC for producing a questionnaire which guarantees that every response can be used to show support for the scheme.

I trust that canny Stopfordians will not limit themselves to answering the questions and tell the Council what they really think.

Not that we necessarily have to be negative about the plan, I would just like to see a more genuine consultation.

Over 1,200 new flats, based around St Peter's Square and Hillgate, are planned to go up within the next 5 years

STOCKPORT is set to receive a £100 million cash injection as an urban housing boom promises to breath new life into the town centre.
Over 1,200 new flats, based around St Peter's Square and Hillgate, are planned to go up within the next five years.
Construction work or planning proceedings have already started on more than ten developments and include proposals for a 110 bedroom hotel off St Peter's Square.
Council officials believe the draw of over 2,000, mainly young adults into the area will provide a major boost for the local economy.
The investment represents the first major step towards the £500 million 'Masterplan' vision for the town centre, which was trumpeted by the council at a launch exhibition last December.
Masterplan project director Sandy Penfold said: "You need a resident population to stimulate an area; a town centre without people living in it is dead."...
Follow the title link to read the full story in the Stockport Express.