The Government has said that nearly 1,000 new houses and apartments need to be built in Stockport each year for the next twenty years. Under the policies the Government have put in place, not all the brownfield sites in towns can be used, so councils are having to look to greenbelt – a move opposed by the Liberal Democrats.

This is in addition to several thousand new houses Cheshire East Council propose building near Handforth Dean, Wilmslow, Poynton and Knutsford.

Cllr Mark Hunter commented “We already knew Stockport is an attractive place to live and work so it is no surprise that developers are targeting our area but we must be robust in our defence of the Green Belt and explore every other avenue before we even contemplate building there. At the moment there are too many sites where derelict buildings remain untouched and others where planning permissions have been granted but no houses have been built and these must be utilised first.”

“Liberal Democrats recognise the need for new homes in our borough, particularly to help those who are struggling to get a first foot on the housing ladder, but it cannot be a blank cheque for developers and land owners to concrete over the Green Belt”, Cllr Hunter concluded.

Here are the areas of greenbelt proposed to be released for house-building in Stockport borough:
More than 3,700 homes between Cheadle Hulme and Heald Green

Up to 2,000 homes next to the railway line at the southern end of Heald Green

4,000 houses north of High Lane

2,400 new homes in Woodford, in addition to the Aerodrome development