Local Democracy Reporting Service
Residents and heritage groups fear building tower blocks around a town’s “iconic” landmark could consign the view many of them associate with home to history.
Plans to build 1,300 new homes near Stockport’s 185-year-old viaduct were approved last week, but Historic England and the Victorian Society think vistas of the viaduct could suffer.
Claire, 33, from Davenport, said she feared the flats would “massively” disrupt the view, while 70-year-old Julie said they were “going to take the glory away” from the local landmark.
Joe Stockton, development director at ECF which is behind the plans, said care was taken to “respect local surroundings” and stressed new views of the viaduct would be created.
Since it was opened in 1840 as part of the Manchester-to-Birmingham railway line, Stockport’s viaduct has been a symbol of the town.
It is still used today by trains running on the West Coast Main Line.
The Stockport 8 prokect plans to meet rising housing demand in the town.
It would see more than 1,000 homes spread across several apartment blocks, the highest of which would be 16 storeys high.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked people in Stockport town centre for their thoughts.
“The viaduct is the first thing you see when you get to Stockport,” said Sarah Williams, 42.
“When we were kids coming back from holiday, we knew we were home when we could see it.
“I know we need more housing but it needs to be [affordable] for people to buy, otherwise it doesn’t help.”
Claire, 33 and from Davenport, said: “The viaduct is Stockport for me.
“I think building flats around it might actually ruin it a bit.
“It’s so iconic, it’s a real shame, the flats will massively take away from that.
“I definitely understand the need for more housing – a lot of people do want to live here – and I think there is a real need for them because there’s not much affordable housing here now.”
Meanwhile 70-year-old Julie said: “The viaduct is a historic monument in our town and this is going to take the glory away from it.
“They’re building square boxes with no character.
“It’s just sad.”
Not everyone was against the scheme, however.
Michael Handley, 56, said: “The regeneration that’s going on in Stockport is good for the area.
“We’ve moved into offices in Stockport Exchange from London and now we have over 100 people here.
“There’s a real need for more housing, there are people who find it difficult to get on the housing ladder; more developments will help that.
“I think prices going up [for rent] is a natural progression, in Stockport there are some deprived areas and more affluent areas too.”
The Victorian Society has raised concerns the plans will “diminish” clear views of the landmark due to the concentration of tall buildings in the scheme, and plans that have been approved at Weir Mill.
Historic England said: “The buildings have the effect of towering over the viaduct due to their height and will have a harmful effect on its significance by crowding its setting and diminishing its prominence.”
The development site is currently home to a mix of low-rise buildings on the intersection of King Street West and Daw Bank, including industrial and office use, as well as surface-level car parking.
Plans for the site have been described as “by far the largest residential proposal that has come forward in the borough”.
They are led by ECF, working with Stockport Council and the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation.
Development director Mr Stockton said his firm understood people’s concerns around about the viaduct and had taken them into account when drawing up the plans.
He said: “We recognise that developing in close proximity to the viaduct requires extremely careful consideration, so our buildings have been sensitively designed at every stage to respect their local surroundings.
“As part of the plans, we are also opening up new views of the viaduct by creating public spaces and providing access underneath some of the arches which have formerly been fenced off from the public.
“We hope that this will create a positive experience for those wanting to get up close to this important and historical asset to the town.”
