Stockport station plans: new buildings on both sides, a footbridge to Edgeley, lifts. Three drop-ins; comment by 17 Nov. No cost or timetable yet.
Stockport Railway Station would get new buildings on both sides of the tracks and a new footbridge linking the town centre with Edgeley, under plans that went out to public consultation today.
Stockport Council and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) launched the consultation on 7 October. The online form opened this morning. The council calls it the most significant improvement to the station in decades.
The plans are early. The project’s own website says no final decisions have been made. Neither the council nor TfGM has published a cost, a funding source or a timetable for the work.
What is proposed
The project’s About page lists the current proposals:
- a replacement station building on the town centre side
- a new station building on the Edgeley side
- a new footbridge connecting the town centre and Edgeley
- lifts and stairs at the new bridge access points, for step-free access through the station
- better walking and cycling routes through and around the station
- improved public spaces, landscaping and lighting, with room for pick-up, drop-off and taxis
- safer pedestrian crossings, including across Railway Road
- a new ramp for walking, wheeling and cycling between Thomson Street and the station
- refurbishment and new uses for parts of the existing station, including platforms
The FAQs say parts of the existing station buildings would be kept and repurposed, possibly for community uses.
The Thomson Street ramp
The ramp is the one part of the scheme the feedback form asks about by name. It would run from Thomson Street in Edgeley to the eastern side of the station.
The FAQs say it would fill “a missing connection within the local active travel network”. It would give a direct walking, wheeling and cycling route between Edgeley, the station, Stockport Interchange and the town centre. The feedback form asks how strongly you support it.
Trains, parking and disruption
The FAQs answer the questions most passengers will ask first:
- Train services and timetables: the proposals do not change them. There may be temporary changes during construction, which the project says will be announced in advance.
- Disruption: “it is too soon to confirm any specific impacts on rail services.”
- Car parking: “appropriate provision will be provided”. An access strategy for the station and surrounding area is still being written, and the team wants comments on parking.
- Taxis and private hire: facilities “will continue to be provided and improved”.
- How long it takes: timescales “are currently being developed”.
Who said what
Cllr Mark Roberts, Leader of Stockport Council, said: “Stockport deserves a station that matches that confidence and momentum.” He added: “This isn’t just about building a better station. It’s about building a gateway that reflects the confidence, ambition and pride of a borough that knows where it’s going.”
Cllr Grace Baynham, Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways and Transport Services, linked it to last week’s news that work is starting on Cheadle’s new station.
Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said TfGM wants stations “to make journeys easier, more accessible and better connected with the places they serve” as rail is brought into the Bee Network.
Avanti West Coast said more than 240 of its services call at Stockport each week. It has worked with the council on the plans.
How to have your say
The feedback form takes five to ten minutes. It asks how easy you find it to move through the station, between platforms and to the town centre and Edgeley, and which proposals would help most.
You can respond:
- online at yourstockportstation.co.uk
- on a printable paper form, sent free to the Freepost address on the Have your say page
- by email to yourstockportstation@stockport.gov.uk
- by phone on 0161 474 2299
- at a drop-in event, where paper forms are also available
| Date | Venue | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 15 October | Stockroom, Merseyway, SK1 1PW | 2.30pm to 6pm |
| Wednesday 4 November | Ground floor, Exchange, 2 Railway Road, SK1 3GG | 12.30pm to 4.30pm |
| Monday 9 November | Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School, Old Chapel Street, Edgeley, SK3 9HX | 4pm to 8pm |
No booking is needed for the drop-ins.
Check the closing date. The council’s release says the consultation closes at 11.59pm on Tuesday 17 November. The project website and the feedback form both say 11.59pm on 19 November. Until that is cleared up, responding by 17 November is the safe choice.
What it means for you
If you use the station, or walk through it between Edgeley and the town centre, this is the stage where comments can still change the design. The project says a summary of what it heard, and how it shaped the plans, will be published on the consultation website after it closes. It also says there will likely be further chances to comment.
If parking, step-free access or the walk to Edgeley matter to you, say so now: those are the questions the project has left open. For current train times and fares, see our Stockport to London trains page. For other big schemes in the town, see Stockport planning news.
Have your say