Stockport Local Plan: 24,253 Homes, Comments From 23 Sept

Stockport’s final Local Plan sets a target of 24,253 new homes by 2042. That is 1,118 fewer than the draft residents were consulted on last winter. Cabinet is asked on Tuesday 15 September to publish it for a last round of public comment, from 23 September to 8 November 2026.

Around 8,689 of those homes would be built on 30 sites in the Green Belt. Three sites have been dropped since the draft and three added.

The figures are in the council’s report to Cabinet and in the plan itself, both published with the meeting’s agenda (Stockport Council Cabinet report). The Housing, Economy and Environment Scrutiny Committee sees the same report the night before, on Monday 14 September (agenda).

What has changed since the draft

The earlier draft, consulted on from November to December 2025, proposed 25,371 homes (council topic paper, October 2025). It drew around 7,500 representations. The council says that feedback, and closer work on whether each site could actually be built, has reshaped the plan.

Three housing sites have been removed because the council now judges them undeliverable:

• Brookfield Business Park (145 homes)
• Land at Chadwick Street, Marple (174 homes)
• Land at Houldsworth Golf Club (122 homes)

Three have been added:

• Land off Buxton Road, Hazel Grove (75 homes)
• Land off Occupiers Lane (120 homes in the plan’s site list)
• Daisy Bank, Heald Green (132 homes)

Two others have grown. Mill Lane in Hazel Grove has been extended east and now totals 80 homes. Romiley Board Mill has been stretched into Green Belt land outside the built-up area, adding a potential 80 homes for 200 in all. Its affordable housing requirement changes as a result.

Across all named sites, the total has fallen from 10,628 homes to 10,121. On the jobs side, the Bredbury Gateway employment site has been cut from 75,000 square metres of floorspace to 50,000, which the report puts down to site constraints.

Where the biggest sites are

The plan lists 38 sites under policy HOM 2a. Six are inside the existing built-up area, led by Land off Midland Road (350) and the former Cheadle Brickworks (300). The rest sit outside it. The largest are:

“Grey belt” is the Government’s term for Green Belt land that contributes little to the Green Belt’s purposes. National policy says councils should look at previously developed land first, then grey belt, then other Green Belt land. The plan’s site list follows that order (Stockport Local Plan, publication version).

Shakespeare Road in Bredbury is one of the allocations, at 150 homes. We reported in August on the 134-home affordable scheme already proposed there.

Why the target is below the Government’s figure

The council calculates Stockport’s housing need over the plan period at 32,317 homes, once the buffers national guidance requires are added. The 24,253 target is 75% of that. The draft plan’s target was 80% of the need figure used at the time.

The council’s Housing Topic Paper sets out the gap:

• existing permissions, urban sites and town centre allowances give 15,519 homes, 48% of need
• no neighbouring council has agreed to take any of Stockport’s shortfall
• the council says developing more Green Belt would harm landscapes and river valleys, and that sites often have flooding or access problems
• its transport evidence says development on a bigger scale would have “a significantly detrimental effect” on the road network

Around 6,389 homes are expected in the town centre, within the wider ambition of 8,000 there by 2040 (Housing Topic Paper).

On Green Belt sites, the plan applies the Government’s “golden rules”. In Stockport that means at least 50% affordable housing, plus infrastructure improvements and new or better public green space.

Delivery is not spread evenly. The plan expects an average of 1,347 homes a year from 2026 to 2031, rising to 2,137 a year from 2031 to 2036, then falling to 1,139 a year to 2042.

What happens next

The Government has been directing the timetable since September 2025, when the housing minister ordered the council to speed up. An amended direction on 1 July 2026 gave it more time, but the final consultation must start by 1 October and the plan must be submitted by 31 December.

The dates in the report are:

After submission, a planning inspector appointed by the Government examines the plan. The report expects hearings in spring 2027 and adoption around the end of 2027.

Last month’s new national planning rules do not change the basis of this plan. The report says transitional rules mean it must be tested against the December 2024 version of national policy.

What it means for you

• If a site near you is on the list, this is the last formal chance to comment. The window is 23 September to 8 November, provided Cabinet approves on 15 September.
• This round is narrower than last winter’s. It asks whether the plan is legally compliant and “sound”, meaning justified, deliverable and consistent with national policy. Comments go to the inspector who examines it.
• Evidence counts more than objection. Flooding, access, school places and road capacity are the grounds the inspector will weigh.
• Expect pressure the other way too. Because the plan meets only 75% of assessed need, developers may argue at examination for more sites.
• You can ask a question at Cabinet. Questions must be submitted through the council’s public questions page at least three hours before the 6pm meeting.

The council has not yet published the form or address for comments. Its Local Plan page is where the documents and response details will go when the consultation opens. The wider picture, including the town centre schemes, is on our Stockport planning news page.

Sources

• Stockport Council: Stockport Local Plan, Regulation 19, report to Scrutiny and Cabinet, for 14 and 15 September 2026
• Stockport Local Plan to 2042: publication version (regulation 19), policies HOM 1 and HOM 2a
• Stockport Local Plan Housing Topic Paper
• Cabinet agenda, 15 September 2026