Introduction

A key purpose of the Local Plan is to support the delivery of the priorities set out in the One Stockport Borough Plan and the One Stockport: One Future plan1 that are about the use of land. It is vital for ensuring that we get the right homes, infrastructure and facilities in the right places to enable the whole of Stockport to thrive and give us ways to protect the environment and places which make Stockport unique. We are required to follow the process set out in the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 20122.

We are in a ‘decisive decade’ for climate change and ecology. The 2016 Paris agreement aims to limit the increase in global average temperatures to 1.5circC, by rapidly reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere. The scientific consensus is that a failure to limit warming to 1.5circC will result in an increase in droughts, flooding, the loss of coastal lands and the decline of fresh water supplies – to name just a few impacts. Given the long lifetime of the built environment, it is important that we plan for and create communities that are robust and resilient in the face of climate change. Urban areas are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events. We are already seeing increased frequency of extreme weather events and climate change is expected to exacerbate this further. This plan will help us ensure that new developments are designed to cope with future rather than historical climates, and to support our existing communities and natural environment in adapting to the challenges posed by climate change.

We continue to face a growing cost of living crisis and the challenge of recovering from the impacts of the pandemic. Digital technology continues to change how people socialise, work and live.

This Local Plan recognises what is important to the communities of Stockport. It celebrates our connectivity, our vast and varied heritage, our people and our unique places. It identifies opportunities across the borough to ensure that current and future residents benefit from investment in infrastructure and community facilities. It will enable the successful delivery of thriving places with affordable, zero carbon housing and a dynamic economy. It celebrates our heritage, protects the environment and supports social and community infrastructure. It will help keep Stockport as a place where people wish to live, work and play. It is an all-age plan, with the health and well-being of our residents at its core.

Informed by a comprehensive, proportionate and up-to-date evidence base, the Local Plan is our response to the key challenges facing the borough over the next 15 years and beyond.

The plan addresses the key issues and identifies those places and sites where change and development can best be accommodated. It recognises that we also need to protect Stockport from the wrong types of development in the wrong places.

The plan sets out the approach and detailed policies for the whole of Stockport until 2042. It is made up of a written statement of policies and a map showing where the