plays an important role in ensuring the vitality of town centres and encourages this on appropriate sites. The supporting Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) states that local planning authorities can ‘take a leading role in promoting a positive vision for these areas.’ Stockport Town Centre sits within the Southern Growth Corridor, one of six growth locations identified by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority for their unique opportunities and assets and potential to provide a platform for levelling-up across the conurbation. In seeking to meet the Greater Manchester Strategy priority of a thriving and productive economy, two ambitions within the Southern Growth Corridor Economic Strategy are:

• to ensure employment sites are in the right locations to support economic growth; and
• for the sub region's town centres to be quality places where people choose to live and work.
• The Southern Growth Corridor stretches from Airport City to the west to Bredbury in the east. Stockport Town Centre, with its ongoing investment and regeneration, is at the heart of the corridor. The town centre is recognised as being a ‘growth pole’ because of its expected delivery of high-quality housing, town centre employment growth, enhanced retail and culture offer and improved sustainable transport connectivity.
• Despite its growth potential, and like many town centres, Stockport has a retail-dominated environment and needs to adapt. In the face of a rapidly changing retail sector and a shift in travel patterns, which were already apparent at the beginning of the decade, the effects of the Covid19 pandemic and surge in demand for online shopping have accelerated the deterioration of the traditional high street leading to the closure of key units and an overall decline in footfall.
• The council has made several key interventions on its journey to effect change which commenced with the £1 billion ‘Investing in Growth’ programme and ‘Stockport. Change Here’ campaign paving the way for key projects to come forward and transforming perceptions of what can be achieved and the capacity to deliver. Several fundamental projects have been completed, such as the new Stockport Interchange and the repurposing of units in Merseyway including Stockroom, or are coming forward e.g. new employment floorspace at Stockport Exchange, all of which are helping to set a high standard for the quality of placemaking. The aim is for interventions like these to collectively raise the profile of the town centre and provide the conditions that help improve the public service and entertainment offer and the visitor experience on arrival. This ongoing investment is therefore crucial in the vision of a multi-functional, vibrant place to live, work and spend time.
• The completion of the early phases of Stockport Exchange has done much to improve first impressions of the town and it has become a highly popular business location. Redrock is a step change for the leisure and entertainment offer. An influx of independent businesses continues to take up space in the historic Underbanks now rejuvenated after £1.8 million of National Lottery Heritage funding has helped to bring vacant and derelict buildings back to life.