Planners have given the go ahead for a ‘landmark’ district centre with a roof shaped like an aircraft wing - but believe the design is a ‘missed opportunity’. The ‘mixed use hub’ will serve the new Woodford Garden Village - an emerging 950-home development south of Stockport - with potential services including shops, cafes and health facilities.
It will be built on a two-acre plot off Chester Road, including parts of the old aerodrome and Bodycote Heat Treatment sites - with a roof shaped like a ‘broken delta wing’ to reflect the site’s aviation heritage. The centre is split into two flanks - the first houses a convenience store on the ground floor, with ‘flexible commercial space’ above, while the second has further commercial space on the ground floor with six two-bed apartments above.
However, Redrow Homes’ plans have not been without controversy, with residents and local councillors particularly raising concerns over its design and appearance. This led to the developer making some changes to the scheme,which are said to take their cue from the neighbouring Aviator pub.
READ MORE: "This is causing absolute misery for residents": Calls for ‘engineering solution’ to ongoing A555 flooding nightmare
But Woodford councillor Brian Bagnall told a planning meeting he was not entirely satisfied with the plan - despite it being ‘a damned sight better than the original one they put forward’. “It will be no surprise to the developer that I am extremely disappointed in their final solution,” he told a meeting of the council’
“This is a landmark development that should pull together both the old Woodford and the new Woodford and it was an opportunity to create something that was really special.” And while he agreed the gable ends on to Chester Road were now ‘greatly improved’, he said it had not emulated The Aviator in terms of ‘sympathy and symmetry’ with the surrounding areas.
“I don’t get the wing on the roof,” he said. “I don’t think anybody will get the wing on the roof, it looks like a retail park,” he added. “I think it’s a shame, I think it’s a missed opportunity and that’s why I’m really sad about it.”
Coun Bagnall said the garden village was something the developer and council ‘should be justifiably proud of’. But he added: “Unfortunately for me I don’t think this delivers to that same standard and that’s why I’m frustrated by it.
“Yes we want a commercial centre but we want one that works with all of the area not just part of it and it should be sympathetically built to do that. I don’t think this delivers that.”
Despite his ‘frustrations’- including that none of the apartments will be affordable - Coun Bagnall admitted there were no planning grounds for refusing the application. Councillors Suzanne Wyatt and Coun Steve Gribbon, who chaired the meeting, agreed that the scheme could have been ‘done better’ - although both liked the roof and its nod to the site’s aerodrome past.
However, the committee granted planning permission, with no members dissenting. The distinct centre will be served by 70 parking spaces, including eight disabled bays and eight electric vehicle charging points.
It will share an entrance with The Aviator pub - connecting Verdon Roe Avenue with Lancastrian Way - while a footpath will create a ‘clear and direct link’ to the garden village.
Planning documents submitted by Redrow Homes say the local centre will bring ‘significant benefits’ to the area, with a mix of commercial and residential uses helping ‘to ensure the livelihood and vitality of the local centre’.
The commercial units are expected to create 89 full-time jobs and support a further 22 ‘indirect’ positions. The construction phase is expected to provide 67 roles and support 74 jobs.
Stockport council planning committee met at the town hall on Thursday night (February 9).
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
- Coleen Campbell formed alliance with ex-husband's rival before former spouse was subjected to 'extraordinary act of barbarism', jury told
- Street closed off by police after suspect dies following 'stabbing'
- Councillor says lots of NHS staff are 'carrying a bit of weight'
- Inside Manchester's giant 'tent' providing amazing views of the city
- 'Blind as a bat' drunk driver ended the life of much-loved young man in horror crash after all-day boozing session
