The openness and permanence of the borough's Green Belt (as shown on the Policies Map) and the setting of the Peak District National Park will be protected. Planning decisions within the Green Belt will be made in accordance with national planning policy. Opportunities to positively enhance the beneficial use of Green Belt will be sought, such as providing access, providing opportunities for outdoor sport and recreation, retaining and enhancing landscapes, visual amenity and biodiversity, and improving damaged and derelict land.
High quality design will be achieved, in part through the use of design codes and guides, protecting the best elements of Stockport's character, identity and distinctiveness and ensuring that new developments integrate and contribute to their surroundings in a positive way. New development will be designed so as to make the most effective use of land possible. Stockport's unique culture, places and spaces will be preserved and enhanced, whilst embracing opportunities to innovate.
Our historic environment and heritage assets will be positively and proactively managed, reinforcing their contribution to local identity and distinctiveness. A strategy of heritage-led regeneration will be key to realising many of the borough's development opportunities. The council will consider using Article 4 directions to restrict the scope of permitted development rights wherever harm to the historic or wider built environment might arise.
A wide variety of homes will be provided for people who want to live in Stockport. It will also be recognised that homes play a central role in our resilience to climate change and in creating and shaping our neighbourhoods and communities of the future. A total of at least 24,253 new homes will be provided in the period up to 2042. The Local Plan strategic affordable housing target is set according to viability, with the highest target being 50% in the higher viability areas. Within the established built-up area at least 90% of new homes will be on previously developed ("brownfield") land.
Stockport Town Centre is the most significant key location for the future success of the borough. It is a sustainable location, with strong transport links, jobs, shops and services. The Town Centre Living Area is well placed to provide the infrastructure required to meet the demands of the new urban communities which will be created at an appropriate, optimised scale and density. The Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation will lead the way in achievement of our aspirations for the town centre.
The more than 30 other centres across the borough also have a key role to play. The smallest of these (large local centres and other local centres) will continue to provide important services and facilities to the neighbourhoods that surround them. Larger district centres will continue to be key focal points for local communities and often have a far wider catchment for the services and opportunities they provide. Such provision of services also means our centres have a strategic role to play, at an appropriate, optimised scale and density, in helping meet housing needs.